Number of Travellers Returning Home Predicted to Decline, Public Purchasing Power Sluggish?

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Several surveys indicate that the number of people travelling home for Eid in 2026 will experience a decline compared to the previous year. This is suspected to occur due to concerns regarding the financial condition and slightly declining purchasing power of the public. Economist and Professor at the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Indonesia (FEB UI), Budi Frensidy, confirmed this. He added that, at the same time, many workers are facing layoffs (PHK). Additionally, new entrants to the workforce who have just graduated are struggling to find employment as they are being replaced by artificial intelligence (AI) or imitation intelligence. Nevertheless, the mudik momentum and Eid al-Fitr 2026 celebrations are considered one of the main pillars supporting Indonesia’s economic growth in the first quarter of this year. Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Airlangga Hartarto, stated that the government has prepared several programmes to maintain purchasing power while encouraging public mobility during Ramadan up to Eid. He mentioned that these policies include price discounts, the implementation of a work-from-anywhere (WFA) scheme, as well as various social assistance and food aid programmes. “We hope that with this victory, we can achieve economic growth in the first quarter of 5.5 per cent,” said Airlangga when met at the Eid open house event on Saturday (21/3/2026). “There are two main factors that can serve as supports,” he said. He cited the acceleration of government spending at the beginning of the year with a total budget of Rp 809 trillion and credit growth of 9.96 per cent year-on-year (yoy) in January 2026 as the main factors. National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo revealed an increase in passengers at stations, terminals, and ports during the Eid mudik rush in 2026. “However, in reality, in its implementation, there has actually been an increase,” he added. Listyo Sigit detailed that at terminals, approximately 1,160,398 passengers departed, or an increase of 23.8 per cent compared to 2025. Then, at stations, there were 1,429,364 departing passengers, or an increase of 12.85 per cent compared to 2025.