Fewer Indonesians returning to home town for Hari Raya

Millions cancel their plans due to an economic slowdown amid mass layoffs

- Stania Puspawardhani

Mr Oksand, a corporate manager from Bogor, West Java, will not be flying back to his family's home town in Payakumbuh, West Sumatra, for Hari Raya Aidilfitri, which is expected to fall on March 31.

"Ticket prices had surged to double, and they keep going up as Hari Raya approaches," he lamented.

Mr Oksand, who, like many Indonesians, goes by one name, told The Straits Times that the normal price for a direct flight from Jakarta to Padang, the capital of West Sumatra, was 1.2 million rupiah (S$97).

However, since the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan began on March 1, prices have more than doubled to three million rupiah. When school holidays started on March 21, the price soared to six million rupiah.

"It's ridiculous," Mr Oksand complained. "I'd better save my money for my children's school tuition."

The 40-year-old has two children in elementary school.

Mr Oksand and his family are among the many Indonesians who have decided not to travel home to celebrate Hari Raya — an annual migration known as "mudik", or exodus, in the Muslim-majority country.

Millions of others have been forced to cancel their plans due to an economic slowdown amid mass layoffs due to factory closures and deflation.

At a March 10 press conference, Minister for Transportation Dudy Purwagandhi said the number of "pemudik", or homecoming travellers, was expected to be 24 per cent lower in 2025, at 146.48 million, from 193.6 million in 2024.

This was according to a survey conducted by the Transportation Policy Agency, a planning body under the Ministry of Transportation, with Kompas newspaper's research and development Unit, in mid-February 2025.

The fall in the number of travellers spells more bad news for the economy, given that Hari Raya migration in previous years was a major driver of consumption in Indonesia.