UNAIR NEWS – The hospitality and tourism industry is one of the sectors greatly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. What is the current state of the industry? This topic was the subject of discussion at an online seminar held by Hospitality Management D3 Program (three year vocational program), Faculty of Vocational Studies (FV) UNAIR on Friday, August 14, 2020.
In this online seminar, Rhoy David Kurniawan S.S., S.Pd., as the manager for learning and development of Raffles Hotel, Bali, was the speaker. Rhoy revealed that the current condition of hospitality and tourism industry is very bad. In fact, it was nine times worse than the economic impact of September 11 attack on the United States in 2001.
“The impact of Covid-19 in the hospitality sector is enormous. You could say that the current condition is very terrible,” he said in the event which attended by 114 participants from various backgrounds.
So, can the hospitality and tourism sector survive? Rhoy revealed, the development of the hospitality sector is still continuing today. Accor (a multinational hotel company, ed) noted, 12,000 new rooms will be built.
Even so, Accor predicts, by the end of 2020, there will be around 400 million travelers worldwide. “Actually, that number is not much. It is a figure commensurate with conditions 35 years ago. So, it is like we’re going back 35 years, “said Rhoy.
This situation is very worrying. In order to survive the pandemic, the hotel industry had to adjust to a new normal lifestyle.
Various ways have been done, from equipping hotels with ALLSAFE Certification, changing the check-in procedures, making payments only by credit card, to providing 24-hour doctors. “These are the measures we took,” said Rhoy.
Based on data from the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), Rhoy said that nearly 1.6 million hotel employees were laid off. Moreover, eight out of ten hotel rooms are empty of customers. AHLA stated that 2020 was the worst year in the history of the hospitality industry.
Furthermore, added Rhoy, around 1,226 hotels were closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile 150,000 hotel workers lost their jobs. Meanwhile, nearly 90 percent of hotels under Accor, decided to close.
“This is the moment to learn. We believe this industry will survive and recover, ”said Rhoy.
For your information, Bali Government has opened the tourism sector to local tourists last July. Meanwhile, foreign tourists can return to enjoy the charm of Bali in the end of September. (*)
Author: Erika Eight Novanty
Editor: Feri Fenoria
