The continuous weakening of the Rupiah against the US Dollar,\nreaching the level of Rp18,195, has not deterred the residents of South\nSulawesi from travelling abroad. Evidence of this can be seen in the\nheavy queues for passport processing at the Makassar Immigration\nOffice.<\/p>\n
The Makassar Immigration Office recorded 4,420 passport applicants\nbetween May and early June 2026, with the majority intending to perform\nthe Umrah pilgrimage. Oky Derajat Rizki Mubarok, Head of Travel\nDocuments and Stay Permits at Makassar Immigration, revealed that the\nnumber of applicants remained stable compared to the same period in\n2025, suggesting that the depreciation of the exchange rate has not yet\nbecome a significant deterrent.<\/p>\n
\u201cDespite the decline in the Rupiah exchange rate, the number of\npassport applicants remains the same. There has been no decrease,\u201d Oky\ntold reporters at the Makassar Immigration Office on Monday (8\/6).<\/p>\n
Detailed data shows that from January to 8 June 2026, the total\nnumber of passport applicants in Makassar reached 18,937 people. In May\n2026 alone, there were 3,631 applicants, while the first eight days of\nJune 2026 saw an additional 789 applicants.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, among the various purposes for application\u2014including\ntourism, family visits, and Hajj\u2014the Umrah pilgrimage is the most\ndominant. Oky noted that most residents of South Sulawesi are processing\npassports specifically for Umrah.<\/p>\n
This phenomenon indicates that spiritual motivation and the mobility\nof South Sulawesi residents remain high, even amidst the current slump\nin the Rupiah\u2019s value. Meanwhile, the weakening of the Rupiah, which has\ncrossed the psychological level of Rp18,000 per US Dollar, is testing\nthe resilience of fiscal and monetary fundamentals. The exchange rate\nopened 0.39 per cent lower at Rp18,107 per US Dollar on Monday\nmorning.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rupiah-hits-rp18-195-yet-south-sulawesi-residents-continue-passport-applications-primarily-for-umrah-1780927098", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }