There’s a bit of good news for those looking to travel (or planning some quality “me” time) without having to use your annual leave quotas, as the Indonesian government today announced four additional libur (holiday) days for this year.
Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Muhadjir Effendy said the addition of the collective leave days relates to the government’s effort in restoring the country’s economic spirit, especially for Indonesia’s tourism sector.
“The consideration was that setting proper leave days will give a positive impact towards the national economy,” Muhadjir said today, as quoted by Kumparan.
The public holidays for 2020 are as follows, with the newly added dates in bold:
National holidays:
Wednesday, January 1 (New Year)
Saturday, January 25 (Chinese New Year)
Sunday, March 22 (Ascension of the Prophet Muhammad)
Wednesday, March 25 (The Balinese Day of Silence)
Friday, April 10 (Good Friday)
Friday, May 1 (May Day)
Thursday, May 7 (Vesak)
Thursday, May 21 (Ascension of Christ)
Sunday, May 24-Monday, May 25 (Eid al-Fitr)
Monday, June 1 (Pancasila Day)
Friday, July 31 (Eid al-Adha)
Monday, August 17 (Independence Day)
Thursday, August 20 (Islamic New Year)
Thursday, October 29 (Birth of the Prophet Muhammad)
Friday, December 25 (Christmas)
Collective leave days:
May 22, 26, 27, 28, and 29 (Before and after Eid al-Fitr)
Aug. 21 (after Islamic New Year)
Oct. 30 (after the Birth of the Prophet Muhammad)
December 24 (Before Christmas)
While this might seem too good to be true, it’s worth noting still that the additional collective leave days after Eid al-Fitr will result in 12 consecutive libur days in the month of May. Starting from the day of Ascension of Christ on May 21, the holiday goes on through Eid — which falls on Sunday — until the next weekend, followed by Pancasila Day on Monday, June 1.
With the additional collective leave days after Eid, people will have more time for the return journey after their annual mudik homecoming trip.
In August of last year, the government issued the official calendar of public holidays for 2020 with 16 days of public holiday and four collective leave days.
Excluding the long holidays for Eid Al-Fitr and Christmas, five of the dates above fall on a Monday or Friday, meaning we have five long weekends in 2020. Other public holidays this year fall in the middle of the week, so you can give yourself some more extended long weekends if you plan your leave accordingly.
