Domestic & Foreign Tourism in Indonesia Expected to Rise at Year-End
Arief Yahya, Indonesia's Minister of Tourism, said domestic tourists in Indonesia have spent more than IDR 140 trillion (approx. USD $10.1 billion) during the first nine months of 2015 and this figure is expected to rise sharply as many locals will use the Christmas and New Year period to take a holiday somewhere in the world's largest Archipelago. It is estimated that in the January-September 2015 period, domestic tourists made 187.3 million trips. This implies that in each trip a local tourist spends about IDR 750,000 (approx. USD $54) for transportation, hotels, food and souvenirs.
Minister Yahya targets to see a total of 255 million domestic tourist trips in 2015, from a total of 251.2 million last year. Most domestic tourists originate from West Java, East Java, Central Java, Jakarta and Banten (all on the island of Java, Indonesia's most populous island). Domestic trips are usually made when schools are closed for a holiday, such as Idul Fitri (the festivities after the fasting month of Ramadan has ended), Chinese New Year, Christmas and New Year.
Meanwhile, the latest data from Indonesia's Statistics Agency (BPS) inform that foreign tourist arrivals climbed 2.11 percent (y/y) to 825,818 in October 2015. In the first ten months of 2015, a total of 8.0 million foreigners visited Indonesia, up 3.4 percent (y/y) from the same period last year. However, it is highly likely that the government's target of welcoming 10 million foreign visitors in Indonesia this year will not be achieved as there remain only two months to attract two million people. Still, foreign visitor arrivals into Indonesia may be boosted at the end of the year as the Great Bali and Great Batam events will be held.
Foreign Tourist Arrivals in Indonesia, 2013-2015:
| Month | Tourist Arrivals 2013 |
Tourist Arrivals 2014 |
Tourist Arrivals 2015 |
| January | 614,328 | 753,079 | 723,039 |
| February | 678,415 | 702,666 | 786,653 |
| March | 725,316 | 765,607 | 789,596 |
| April | 646,117 | 726,332 | 749,882 |
| May | 700,708 | 752,363 | 793,499 |
| June | 789,594 | 851,475 | 815,148 |
| July | 717,784 | 777,210 | 814,233 |
| August | 771,009 | 826,821 | 850,542 |
| September | 770,878 | 791,296 | 869,179 |
| October | 719,900 | 808,767 | 825,818 |
| November | 807,422 | 764,461 | |
| December | 766,966 | 915,334 | |
| Total | 8,802,129 | 9,435,411 | 8,017,589 |
Foreign Tourist Arrivals in Indonesia, 2007-2015:
| 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | |
| Foreign Tourists (in millions) |
5.51 | 6.23 | 6.32 | 7.00 | 7.65 | 8.04 | 8.80 | 9.44 | 10.0¹ |
¹ indicates government target
Source: Statistics Indonesia (BPS)
Further Reading:
• Overview of Indonesia's Tourism Industry