Holiday Ayo - Indonesian National Shipping (Pelni) projects revenue in the Christmas and New Year's holiday season or Nataru of IDR 121 billion. Pelni Main Director Tri Andayani said the figure was up 99 percent compared to the previous year.

This year, the company estimates it can carry 451,601 passengers. Of the total fleet, there are 26 PSO (Public Service Obligation) ships and 43 pioneer ships which are prepared to transport people.

"The projection is based on the number of passengers multiplied by the fare set by the government, namely the Ministry of Transportation," said Tri Andayani, quoted from fortuneidn.com, Monday (12/12).

Pelni has set the peak period for the Nataru holidays from 11 December 2022 to 8 January 2022. The company has prepared 26 passenger ships with a total capacity of 32,447 seats. Pelni is also preparing 43 pioneer ships with a capacity of 16,706 seats. Thus, the total seats prepared for one departure are 49,153.

According to him, there are five sections in the Nataru traffic this time that are the most crowded with passengers: Batam–Belawan projected 14,579 passengers, Belawan–Batam 9,011 passengers, Makassar–Baubau 5,399 passengers, Manokwari–Sorong 4,474 passengers, and Makassar–Surabaya 4,432 passengers.

"For the five busiest ports there are Batam, Belawan, Makasar, Tanjung Priok and Ambon ports," said Andayani.

Basically Pelni ships can carry passengers beyond current conditions, and "and remain stable," he said, so the dispensation is probably around 30-35 percent of capacity.

The request for a capacity dispensation was made because there were limited means of transportation on several shipping routes. Therefore, the density of passengers during Nataru needs to be accommodated.

Pelni has two tourism programs, namely Pelni Lifestyle and City Tour. Pelni Lifestyle is based on Meeting, Incentive, Convention and Exhibition (MICE) activities or programs that are generally carried out in buildings.

Meanwhile, the City Tour program is aimed at transit passengers. This program cooperates with companies that organize land transportation tours, both Damri as a BUMN, private tour & travel, as well as the local tourism office.

“This program begins with a City Tour in Surabaya. But apart from Surabaya, it is also being carried out in several cities in eastern Indonesia," said Andayani.