The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy distributed basic need packages to former tourism workers in Bali affected by the Covid-19 pandemic yesterday in Nusa Dua.
The food packages were handed over by the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Rizki Handayani Mustafa to the Chairperson of the Bali Indonesian Tourism Industry, Ida Bagus Agung Partha Adnyana at the Bali Tourism Polytechnic Hall on Friday 17 April 2020.
“We hope that this assistance can help tourism workers in Bali which have been greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Rizki Handayani was quoted in Tempo.
Each food package contained 5 kilograms of rice, 2 kilograms of sugar, 520 ml of soy sauce, 2 liters of cooking oil, sachet coffee, drinks and one box of instant noodles, which was provided by the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy with help from Wings Food.
Rizki Handayani said tourism was the first sector affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. And the Province of Bali which has such a dependence on tourism has been greatly impact. Many workers in the Bali tourism industry have lost all income.
GIPI Bali will distribute the nine-basic necessities to 8,000 tour workers in Bali affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. They are workers who have been laid off or who are now on unpaid leave and have been without income for more than three weeks.
Rizki Handayani explained that the government had reallocated the budget to handle the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the tourism sector and the creative economy. “We all hope that the corona outbreak will end soon so that things can return to normal, and especially the tourism industry that has been very much affected,” he said.
However, Adnyana revealed at the same time that there are 20 to 30 thousand tourism workers currently needing help. They are hotel, restaurant and entertainment venue workers.
“If the data is rounded off there are between 20-30 thousand people. They all need help,” Partha Adnyana was quoted by Bali Tribune.
“We are not sure of the exact numbers. What we need is help, as many contract workers were immediately laid off by their bosses. So the government must take over,” he said.
Partha Adnyana said he appreciated and was thankful for the 8,000 food packages provided by the Ministry of Tourism to the Bali tourism workers who currently really needed help, however, he hoped that the aid will not end there.
“Because 8,000 thousand is still lacking, I hope this is not only once, because the number who need help is 20-30 thousand people,” said Partha Adnyana.
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Source: SeminyakTimes