THE WEAKENING OF THE ECONOMY IN INDONESIA DURING THE

CORONA VIRUS DISEASE-19 PANDEMIC: THE TOURISM SECTOR

Yossy Eka Pradita

Department of Management, Faculty of Economics and Business,
University of Jember
Jalan Kalimantan 37, Jember, Indonesia, 68121
yossy2000.yp@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
The economy is the most important sector in sustainable economic development
in the national order. The level of state income in the economic sector can affect
national development. This study aims to determine the impact of Covid-19 on the
Indonesian economy today. This research is a descriptive qualitative research with
the aim of knowing how big the impact caused by Covid-19 on the economy in
Indonesia, especially in the tourism sector. This type of research also uses
secondary data obtained from existing literature and has been reviewed by
previous researchers. Researchers use empirical research sources by collecting
data and information related to the weakening of the tourism sector in Indonesia
due to Covid-19 and the Indonesian economy. The Covid-19 outbreak had a
severe impact on the tourism sector, after previously this sector experienced
similar outbreaks and various other trials but was able to bounce back. In
Indonesia itself, it is undeniable that the economic situation is very unstable.
Large-scale social restrictions indirectly limit the implementation of economic
activities in the community. The presence of Covid-19 has changed the order of
life in global and national aspects. The impact that occurs is that there is difficulty
in finding jobs, it is difficult to meet the needs of daily life and also does not have
income to meet daily needs and also many difficulties received from all sectors of
the economy in all fields also feel the impact of Covid -19.

Keywords: Covid-19, Impact, Tourism Sector, An Economy

PRELIMINARY
The World Health Organization (WHO) explains that Coronaviruses (Cov)
are viruses that infect the respiratory system. This viral infection is called Covid-
19. Corona viruses cause illness from the common cold to more severe illnesses
such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). Corona virus is zoonotic which means it is
transmitted between animals and humans. According to the Indonesian Ministry
of Health, the development of the Covid-19 case in Wuhan began on December
30, 2019, when the Wuhan Municipal Health Committee issued an "urgent notice
on the treatment of pneumonia of unknown cause". The spread of the Corona
virus is very fast, even across countries. So far, 188 countries have confirmed that
they have the Corona virus. The spread of the Corona virus which has spread to
various parts of the world has an impact on the Indonesian economy, both in
terms of trade, investment and tourism.
Indonesia is one of the countries that has imposed a ban on travel abroad to
reduce the spread of the Corona virus. This ban caused a number of airlines to
cancel their flights and several airlines were forced to continue operating even
though the majority of the plane seats were empty in order to fulfill the rights of
passengers. Many consumers are delaying booking their holiday tickets because
of the increasingly widespread spread of the Corona virus. This situation causes
the government to act by providing policies to overcome these problems. The
Corona virus has also had a huge impact on the tourism sector. Data from the
Central Statistics Agency (BPS) shows that tourists from China reached 2.07
million people in 2019 which accounted for 12.8 percent of total foreign tourists
throughout 2019. The spread of the Corona virus causes tourists visiting Indonesia
to decrease. Tourism supporting sectors such as hotels, restaurants and retail
entrepreneurs will also be affected by the Corona virus. Hotel occupancy has
decreased by 40 percent which has an impact on the continuity of the hotel
business. The lack of tourists also has an impact on restaurants or restaurants
where most of the consumers are tourists. The weakening of tourism also has an
impact on the retail industry. The areas whose retail sector is most affected are
Manado, Bali, Riau Islands, Bangka Belitung, Medan and Jakarta.
The impact of the tourism sector will also cause other sectors to be
disrupted. The effects of the pandemic have a direct or indirect impact on tourism
in Indonesia, several studies reveal the impact of the weakening of the tourism
sector on the high unemployment rate. Some places of tourism are very dependent
on tourists. In addition to the decline in the number of tourists caused by the
Covid-19 pandemic, the condition of tourism in Indonesia also faces several other
risks including the threat of climate change, and natural damage.
Efforts to improve the tourism sector that can be done by the government, one of
which is making promotions through virtual visits, this approach can be used to
socialize and promote early to potential consumers. The use of 360 photography
technology and virtual visits can be a marketing strategy in the tourism sector
(Sulaiman et al., 2020). Tourism based on community participation and the use of
domestic resources as tourist sites will also support proactive national economic
resilience against community elements.

LITERATURE VIEW
Corona Virus Disease – 19
According to Alodokter.com Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) is a new
type of disease caused by a virus from the coronavirus group, namely SARS-
CoV-2 which is also often called the Corona virus. The first case of this disease
occurred in the city of Wuhan, China, at the end of December 2019. After that,
COVID-19 spread between humans very quickly and spread to dozens of
countries, including Indonesia, in just a few months. Its rapid spread has made
several countries implement policies to impose lockdowns to prevent the spread
of the Corona virus. In Indonesia, the government implemented a large-scale
social restriction (PSBB) policy to suppress the spread of this virus.
Covid-19 is caused by SARS-CoV-2, which is a new type of coronavirus (a
group of viruses that infects the respiratory system). Corona virus infection can
cause mild to moderate respiratory infections, such as the flu, or infections of the
respiratory system and lungs, such as pneumonia. Covid-19 was initially
transmitted from animals to humans. After that, it was discovered that this
infection can also be transmitted from human to human. Transmission can be
through the following ways:
a. Accidentally inhaled the droplets of saliva that come out when a person
with Covid-19 sneezes or coughs.
b. Holding your mouth, nose, or eyes without washing your hands first,
after touching objects that have been exposed to droplets infected with
Covid-19.
 c. Close contact (less than 2 meters) with Covid-19 sufferers without
wearing a mask.
The CDC and WHO state that COVID-19 can also be transmitted through
aerosols (particles of substances in the air). However, this mode of transmission
only occurs in certain medical procedures, such as bronchoscopy, endotracheal
intubation, suctioning of mucus, and administering inhaled drugs via a nebulizer.
Meanwhile, according to the Ministry of Health, Covid-19 can cause mild
symptoms including runny nose, sore throat, cough, and fever. About 80% of
cases recover without the need for special treatment. About 1 in every 6 people
may develop severe illness, such as with pneumonia or difficulty breathing, which
usually develops gradually. Although the mortality rate for this disease is still low
(around 3%), the elderly, and people with pre-existing medical conditions (such as
diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease), are usually more prone to
becoming ill. severe. Looking at developments to date, more than 50% of
confirmed cases have been declared to be improving, and the cure rate will
continue to increase.
The Tourism Sector
The tourism sector is one of the strategic sectors that must be utilized for
tourism development as part of national development. Tourism development has
the ultimate goal of increasing people's income which can ultimately improve
community welfare and economic growth (Anggita, 2019).
The tourism sector is one of the strategic sectors in the development of the
Indonesian economy. This fast-growing sector has become a part of global
economic development. The tourism sector is one sector that has a contribution to
income and employment. This happened because of the demand from the tourists
who came. Thus, the arrival of tourists to an area will open up opportunities for
the community to become entrepreneurs of hotels, restaurants, transportation
support services in managing objects and tourist attractions so that these
opportunities will provide opportunities for local people to work so that people
will earn income from the work. The development of tourism in an area will bring
many benefits to the community, namely economically, socially and culturally.
Economy
Economics or economics in many economic literature is said to come from
the Greek words Oikos or Oiku and Nomos which means household rules. In
other words, the meaning of the economy is all that concerns matters relating to
life in the household of course what is meant and in its development the word
household does not only refer to a family consisting of a husband, wife and
children, but also a house. wider household, namely the household of the nation,
the state and the world (Iskandar, 2010).
The economic system is a system that regulates the economic conditions of
a country in accordance with the state conditions of the country itself. Each
country has a different economic system. This is because each country has
different ideologies, social conditions, economic conditions, and conditions of
natural resources. The economic system can be interpreted as production,
consumption and distribution activities that aim to meet the needs of the
community (Tejo & Anik, 2011).

RESEARCH METHODS
This study aims to determine the impact of Covid-19 on the Indonesian
economy, especially in the current tourism sector. This study also aims to see the
steps taken by the government to restore the tourism sector caused by the Covid-
19 pandemic. This research does not need to go into the field to get data so that
the method used is the library method, namely by taking data from various
references that support and relate to this research and examine the results of
previous author's research. This type of research is qualitative research. Data
collection techniques are listening and recording important information in data
analysis by means of data reduction, data display and drawing conclusions.

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

The World Health Organization (WHO) explains that Coronaviruses (Cov)
are viruses that infect the respiratory system. This viral infection is called Covid-
19. Corona viruses cause illness from the common cold to more severe illnesses
such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). This virus spreads quickly and has spread to
several countries, including Indonesia. A person can be infected with Covid-19 in
various ways, namely:
1. Accidentally inhaling saliva splashes from sneezing or coughing people
with Covid-19.
2. Holding your mouth or nose without washing your hands first after
touching objects that have been splashed by the saliva of a Covid-19
sufferer.
3. Close contact with Covid-19 sufferers, for example touching or shaking
hands.
Tourism is one of the important sectors for the Indonesian economy, but
achievements in this sector are still not optimal. The World Economic Forum
(WEF) in 2013 ranked Indonesia at 6th and 38th place out of 140 countries in the
world for ownership of natural and cultural resources. This ranking is far above
neighboring countries, such as Thailand and Malaysia. Indonesia's tourism price
competitiveness index in 2013 was ranked 9th out of 140 countries.
Although the growth of the Indonesian tourism sector is high, when
compared to other competing countries in the ASEAN region, Indonesia is still far
behind. Given the potential of Indonesia's tourism sector in the future, various
strategies are needed to attract more foreign tourists and develop Indonesian
tourism.
The tourism sector has a significant role in the economy in Indonesia.
Tourism is a multi-component industry, it cannot be separated from other
economic sectors. During 2019, the number of foreign tourist visits or foreign
tourists to Indonesia reached 16.11 million visits, an increase of 1.88 percent
compared to the number of foreign tourist visits in the same period the previous
year which amounted to 15.81 million visits. The number of foreign tourist visits
consists of foreign tourists visiting through air entrances as many as 9.83 million
visits, sea entrances as many as 4.16 million visits, and land entrances as many as
2.11 million visits.
 It is undeniable that the Covid-19 pandemic has weakened the world
economy, including Indonesia itself. The Covid-19 pandemic has had an impact
on every sector, starting from the social sector, the education sector, the economic
sector, to the tourism sector. As a result of Covid-19, the government has imposed
a policy of Massive Social Restrictions (PSBB) and also closed recreational and
entertainment places so that the spread of Covid-19 does not spread. This will
certainly limit the mobility of the community, and indirectly provide a sizeable
economic impact on the tourism sector.
According to the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, foreign
tourist visits to Indonesia through all entrances in 2020 amounted to 4,052,923
visits or decreased by 74.84% compared to 2019 which amounted to 16,108,600
visits. Foreign tourist visits at three major gates of the 26 main entrances in 2020
compared to December 2019, namely Ngurah Rai decreased by 83.02%,
Soekarno-Hatta decreased by 82.01%, and Batam experienced a decline of
84.84% . Based on nationality, the number of foreign tourist arrivals in 2020 at all
entrances recorded the highest number of visits, namely Timor Leste with 994,590
visits, Malaysia with 980,118 visits, Singapore with 280,492 visits, Australia with
256,291 visits and China with 239,768 visits.
 Picture 1. Monthly Visits of Foreign Tourists

In this case, it can be proven that due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the tourism
sector experienced a decline in foreign exchange earnings so that the Indonesian
economy also declined. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the tourism
sector is very significant, so strategic steps are needed to restore the tourism
sector. The steps taken by the government through the Ministry of Tourism and
Creative Economy (Kemenparekraf) are to improve supply and demand with six
steps in the tourism and creative economy sectors including:
1. Prepare tourist destinations.
2. Build a competitive connectivity infrastructure with other countries.
3. Implementation and monitoring of the implementation of the CHSE
protocol in the regions.
4. Creating and building a tourist attraction.
5. Improving the quality of human resources for creative economy workers.
6. Increase the quantity and quality of creative economy products.

CONCLUSIONS
The presence of the COVID-19 outbreak has weakened various economic
activities. This has an impact on sustainable economic development in the future.
In Indonesia, the government has implemented various strategies and policies to
re-stabilize economic activity. Moreover, cross-sector tourism activities also have
an impact on other economic actors. For example, the supply of goods and
services can indirectly help the community's economic activities through the
tourism sector. During the Covid-19 pandemic, various economic sectors in
various economic activities, especially in the tourism sector, had to be stopped.
Seeing opportunities from various sectors, especially the tourism sector,
contributes greatly to the community's economy. This tourism development is
expected to stabilize the economic situation again. This is a challenge for the
government to reactivate the activity of the economy which is weakening. By
issuing several policies such as "New Normal" which will be implemented and is
expected to stabilize the economic situation again.
From the data analysis and discussion that has been carried out, it can be
concluded that the Covid-19 pandemic that occurred had a decreasing impact on
the tourism sector. The existence of the Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB)
policy has a fairly large economic impact on the tourism sector. Foreign tourist
visits to Indonesia through all entrances in 2020 amounted to 4,052,923 visits or
decreased by 74.84% compared to 2019 which amounted to 16,108,600 visits.
The government through the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy
(Kemenparekraf) has taken several policy steps to improve the tourism sector and
the creative economy. Increasing exports and digitizing the marketing of Creative
Economy (Ekraf) products is one of the government's steps, so it is expected to be
able to restore national tourism.

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