Reading the Economic Value of Tourism and its Contribution to GDP, Plummeted Due to the Pandemic

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) collects data from the Tourism Satellite Account regarding the economic value and contribution of the tourism sector to Indonesia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

In 2016, the economic value of tourism reached Rp576.7 trillion. Its contribution to the GDP was 4.65%.

A year later, the value increased to Rp635.3 trillion. However, its contribution only slightly increased to 4.67% in 2017.

Generally, since 2016, the value and contribution of tourism have shown an upward trend. By 2019, the value had significantly increased to Rp786.3 trillion, with a contribution of 4.97%.

However, in 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic struck and all activities were tightened, the economic value plummeted to Rp346 trillion. Its contribution dropped sharply to 2.24%.

BPS notes that the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) estimates that the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in a loss of 1.5% to 2.8% of the world's GDP.

From January to May 2020, the number of foreign tourists to Indonesia decreased drastically by 56%, and tourism export revenue fell by US$320 million.

Covid-19 also threatened the loss of 100-120 million jobs in the tourism sector. As is known, the tourism sector is largely labor-intensive, with most businesses being small and medium-sized enterprises.

BPS states that island nations and developing countries that rely on the tourism sector to support their economies are expected to experience the greatest impact from the Covid-19 pandemic.

"In Indonesia, tourism is a sector that plays a very important role, so the Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the Indonesian economy as a whole," wrote BPS in its report titled *Statistics of Foreign Tourist Expenditures 2022*.