Chinese tourists, some wearing facemasks as a preventative measure following a coronavirus outbreak that began in the Chinese city of Wuhan, walk after arriving from Nusa Penida at the fast boat pier on Serangan Island in Denpasar, Bali(Source:AFP)Jakarta (VNA) – The outbreak of the acuterespiratory disease caused by the 2019 novel coronavirus (nCoV) has startedimpacting Indonesia’s tourism and export sectors, according to Indonesianofficials.
Chairman of the Indonesian Employers Association(Apindo) Hariyadi Sukamdani said palm oil was also among the commoditiesaffected, as the virus outbreak had caused a delay in shipments of thecommodity to China, one of Indonesia’s major buyers.
He said with its declining trade with China, Indonesia will be difficultto achieve the economic growth target of 5.3 percent this year.
If the epidemic continues to become complicated, Indonesia is also at risk oflosing about 1.7 million Chinese tourists, he noted.
Hariyadi said that Indonesian businesses are now seeking markets other than Chinamarket, but this is difficult because the export price to China is morecompetitive.
Meanwhile, Suhariyanto, head of the Central Statistics Agency(BPS) of Indonesia, said the epidemic will cause a sharp drop in the number ofChinese tourists to Indonesia this year.
IndonesianMinister of Tourism Wishnutama Kusubandio on February 5 said the acuterespiratory disease may cause losses of up to 54.8 trillion Rupiah or 4 billionUSD to the country’s tourism sector./.
VNA
