Tourism industry faces massive layoffs

The Jakarta Post, Tue, 03/31/2009 3:02 PM

DENPASAR: The ongoing global financial crisis may see some 20 percent of 4.41 million people working in the Indonesian tourism industry lose their jobs.

"We haven't calculated the exact figure, but no more than 20 percent of the total tourism workers will be affected," Harry Waluyo, director of the Culture and Tourism Ministry's Data and Network Center, said on the sidelines of the International Conference on Tourism Statistics, which opened Monday.

He added workers directly employed in tourism establishments would face a bigger possibility of losing their jobs than those in tourism-related industries.

Tourism-related industries will be able to find alternative markets for their products, while tourism establishments, such as hotels, restaurants and tour operators, will certainly be hard-pressed once visitor numbers drop significantly.