Post Pandemic: Does MICE Ameliorate Indonesian Tourism Industry?

Written by : Najwa Aulia, Third Semester Student at Major of Tourism Marketing Management, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia

Collaborated with : Rijal Khaerani, S.Si., M.Stat. as a Lecturer of Integrated Marketing Communication in Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia 

As we already know, the COVID-19 pandemic that has hit for the past two years has had quite a significant impact on the tourism industry, especially in the MICE field. Many events that have to be postponed until an uncertain time also have to be canceled in order to avoid the spread of COVID-19, which spreads quickly. However, there are also events that are held virtually to bring the MICE field alive in the tourism industry. Unfortunately, this has not had a substantial impact on the income of the tourism industry in Indonesia.

Nevertheless, 2022 has become a new journey for the tourism industry. A new beginning for revival was filled with repairs to recover from the downturn of this industry. The MICE sector plays a role in reviving the tourism industry in Indonesia. Since The COVID-19 Handling Task Force released the COVID-19 regulation regarding licensing of large-scale activities on Circular Number 20 of 2022, this has become a green flag for every figure in MICE to restart holding events in Indonesia.

In this recovery era, Indonesia is hosting the Presidential G20 Summit, which is already held from December 1, 2021, to the G20 Summit in November 2022. The event that brought together 19 state officials for an international economic cooperation forum had a real impact on the tourism industry. Started from bringing in the number of foreign tourists, which was stated directly by Sandiaga Uno, Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, "If in each October to December we can maintain at least 500 thousand foreign tourists, then we will get an additional 1.5 to 2.4 million. It is not impossible that we'll be closer to 3.9 million, and hopefully 4 million."

In addition, the G20 Summit is an opportunity to increase assets and accommodation facilities. "The G20 event has had a positive impact on Bali, with hotel occupancy in the ITDC Nusa Dua area increasing to 70% in November 2022," said Sandiaga Uno in the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy Weekly Press Briefing. Not only that, the event was recorded as contributing $533 million, or Rp7 trillion, to the economy and creating more than 33,000 new jobs. This proves that MICE activities can reduce the unemployment rate in Indonesia.

From the statements above, what do you think? Do you agree that MICE can Ameliorate Indonesian Tourism Industry?

Share your thoughts and feel free to comment down below!