SOUTH TANGERANG, BANTEN — Ramadan 1446 Hijri has entered its final week. The moment leading up to Eid al-Fitr 1446 AH is an opportunity for migrants to return to their hometowns to meet their beloved families. However, based on the results of a survey by the Transportation Policy Agency of the Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub), the number of travelers ahead of Eid this year has decreased by 24 percent.
By reaching correspondents who booked tickets for public transportation or private vehicles in a survey taken in February 2025, the number of travelers this year is estimated to reach 146.48 million people. In fact, last year the number of travelers experienced a surge, reaching 193.6 million travelers.
This phenomenon seems anomalous. This is because, as recorded in the Ministry of Transportation’s data on travelers, the number of travelers has always increased significantly in the last 10 years, except in 2020-2021 during the Covid-19 period. So, what really happened?
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Some economic experts predict that the root of the problem stems from Indonesia’s recent macroeconomic situation. One of them is Achmad Nur Hidayat, an economist and public policy expert at the National Development University (UPN) in Jakarta, who says that this event is a representation of the weakening economic situation of the community.
The massive layoffs in the industrial and service sectors have made people more cautious about spending money. This has caused a decline in people’s purchasing power, both in terms of primary and tertiary needs. This includes buying tickets to go home for the holidays.
Various efforts for those who are economically affected to still go home are coming in. One of them is the Cheerful Homecoming Program initiated by Dompet Dhuafa. Mudik Ceria (Cheerful Homecoming) is free transportation assistance for street vendors, recitation teachers, mosque caretakers, and other beneficiaries who are economically unable to go home for Eid.
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On Tuesday (03/25/2025), Dompet Dhuafa sent 100 travelers to their respective hometowns. From the Dompet Dhuafa Ciputat Office, two buses divided into two routes began to depart. The first route: Jakarta-Semarang-Yogyakarta and the second route: Jakarta-Solo-Surabaya.
One of the beneficiaries, who is a marbot (volunteer) at a mosque in South Tangerang, expressed his gratitude. He said that initially he had no plans to go home this year. But on that day, Dompet Dhuafa’s Mudik Ceria (Cheerful Homecoming) became his only new hope.
“Alhamdulillah, I was able to go home this year, back to my village in Gunung Kidul, Yogyakarta. Of course this was very helpful. Initially I had no plans (to go home), because the economy was difficult. Thank you very much Dompet Dhuafa,” he said emotionally. (Dompet Dhuafa)
Text: Hany Fatihah Ahmad
Photo: LPM
Editor: Dhika