The domino effect of the corona virus on the hospitality and agriculture industry in Bali

The domino effect of the corona virus on the hospitality and agriculture industry in Bali

By: Ida Bagus Dwi Setiawan

Faculty of Tourism, Udayana University, setiawangoes@unud.ac.id

Three months have gone corona virus (Covid-19) spread threats around the world. The hotel industry in Bali is the industry most affected by the spread of this virus. The chain reaction or domino effect also occurs in the supporting sectors of tourism, such as hotels and restaurants and agriculture in Bali. The Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) said the impact of the spread of the corona virus was felt by hotel, restaurant and airline entrepreneurs who had massive share and investment value.

This dynamic is said to be force majeure or an unavoidable condition. The drop in hotel occupancy by 60-80% has had a significant impact on the continuity of the hotel business in Bali. The reason, hotels in Bali contribute the highest PAD (Local Original Revenue) to have a large number of employees. Some hotels in Bali ask their employees to take time off when the demand is quiet. "In the short term they did it. If the month of August is still quiet, this is very dangerous. As for the regions whose retail sector is the most affected specifically in Bali.

From this condition there are sectors that can still run to improve the economy in Bali, especially the agricultural sector. So that basic needs and food can be maintained, especially rice as a staple food. First, the price of farmers' production fell because the hotel sector in Bali was not working, both food crops, horticulture, and plantations. "Second is unemployment increases due to layoffs, next is food prices and horticulture until consumers tend to rise.

The number of tourists who have the highest level of visits in Bali, especially in Chinese tourists, namely Nusa Dua, Tuban, and Legian. At present Chinese tourists are the biggest contribution of tourists in Bali. Therefore, the decline in Chinese tourist visits due to the corona virus outbreak has a big impact on Bali tourism. Not only that, corona outbreaks also have an impact on hotel occupancy rates in the areas of Ubud and Sanur which are favorite locations for European and Australian tourists to stay, flight cancellations both International and domestic, cancellation of hotel rooms with a total value of countless losses.