At the first day of Indonesia's Idul Fitri holiday (4-8 July 2016), the capital city of Jakarta has become relatively quiet as some 6.7 million Jakartans are estimated to have left the city to spend a couple of days with their families in the suburban or rural areas (a tradition called mudik). The peak of the exodus occurred on Saturday-Sunday and choked toll gates in the Greater Jakarta area. Meanwhile, the number of air passengers during this year's Idul Fitri is expected to be the highest ever, supported by higher purchasing power and better airport and flight services.

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The Transportation Ministry of Indonesia predicts that there will be around 18 million people traveling back to their places of origin ahead of this year's Idul Fitri celebrations (the days that mark the end of the Ramadan fasting month). This prediction is 3.3 percent higher than the flow of people during last year's Idul Fitri (17.4 million). The annual exodus of Indonesian workers and professionals from the cities back to their hometowns - to spend some days with their parents - ahead of Idul Fitri (Lebaran) is called mudik in Indonesian.

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The holy Islamic fasting month (Ramadan) is set to start in early June. One month later Indonesia will celebrate Idul Fitri (Lebaran), the celebration that marks the end of the Ramadan month. During Idul Fitri millions of Indonesians will travel back to their places of origin to spend some time with their families, a tradition called mudik. Although the Ramadan is a month characterized by self-control, this month and the subsequent Idul Fitri celebrations always cause rising consumption of food products as well as rising consumer spending on clothes, shoes, bags, and other articles.

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It is estimated that about 20 million Indonesians will travel back to their hometowns during the Idul Fitri (also known as Lebaran) celebrations that mark the end of the Ramadan (the Islamic holy fasting month) next month. This homeward bound traveling is locally known as mudik. The annual mudik tradition involves millions of Indonesians taking time off from work, leaving their urban residences and travel back to their places of birth in the rural areas for a few days. During these days cities become empty.

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Indonesian cement sales fell 25 percent to 3.7 million tons in July 2014 from 5 million tons in the same month last year. This sharp decline is attributed to the Lebaran holiday (also known as Idul Fitri in which Muslims celebrate the end of the fasting month) when businesses are closed as well as Indonesia’s July 2014 presidential election. Slowing cement sales are also caused by declining economic growth (5.12 percent yoy in Q2-2014). Cement sales are a key indicator for construction activity (infrastructure and property development).

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On Monday (04/08), Statistics Indonesia (BPS) announced that the July 2014 inflation figure was 0.93 percent (month-on-month), considerably higher than the 0.43 percent of inflation in the previous month but significantly lower than the 3.29 percent inflation recorded in July last year (when inflation accelerated sharply due to higher subsidized fuel prices implemented by the government in June 2013). Head of BPS Suryamin stated that food prices contributed most to the July inflation pace, followed by instant food, drinks, cigarettes and tobacco.

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The pace of Indonesian inflation in July 2014 is expected to be in the range of 0.60 to 0.75 percent (month-on-month). If realized, this would be one of the lowest July inflation figures in recent Indonesian history. Traditionally, the month of July brings high inflationary pressures as consumers spend more on food products and other consumer goods as well as transportation amid the holy fasting month of Ramadan and subsequent Idul Fitri celebrations (which also involves the mudik tradition).

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The Idul Fitri celebrations (also known as Lebaran) in Indonesia appear to take place in a safe and orderly manner. Idul Fitri is an important religious holiday for Muslims as it stresses the importance of unity for the Islamic community, and marks the end of the holy fasting month (Ramadan). Business comes to a near stand-still in Indonesia during these days, and Jakarta, the political and economic center of Indonesia, has become empty after millions of people went back to their hometowns ahead of Idul Fitri (this is known as the annual mudik tradition).

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The annual mudik tradition has started in Indonesia. The term mudik refers to the exodus of Indonesian workers from the cities back to their hometowns ahead of Lebaran (the Indonesian name for Idul Fitri) which starts on 28 July 2014. Lebaran, a national holiday (from 28 July to 1 August), marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan and is usually celebrated at people’s places of origin, implying that Indonesian cities become more-or-less deserted for one week. In the week up to Lebaran people start to mudik.

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The city center streets of Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta, which are normally characterized by heavy traffic jams, are becoming quiet. As the holy Islamic fasting month (Ramadan) is getting towards the end, people are traveling back to their places of origin for the Lebaran celebrations. This annual tradition is known as 'mudik'. Usually, the people spend a few days at their hometowns before traveling back to their places of work. This period also means that businesses (including the stock exchange) are mostly closed until 12 August 2013.

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Despite the ongoing challenges (that mainly originate from abroad), there is reason to be optimistic about Indonesia’s economic growth in 2022 as the COVID-19 threat has eased.

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Next week Indonesia's financial and stock markets are closed for Idul Fitri (also known as Lebaran or Eid al-Fitr), the celebrations that mark the end of the holy Islamic fasting month (Ramadan). As usual, during the Ramadan month (that started in early June) business activities in Indonesia start to slow and this slowdown will reach its "peak" during the Idul Fitri holiday, a national holiday (from Monday 4 July to Friday 8 July) when some 17.6 million Indonesians who live and work in the bigger cities will return to their places of origin for a couple of days (a tradition called mudik).

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