The Kagum Group, a hospitality management company in Indonesia, is eager to expand into the sharia tourism sector by establishing a chain of sharia hotels across Indonesia. Sharia hotels are hotels that follow Islamic principles such as offering separated indoor (protected from public view) swimming pools for men and women or serving halal food and beverages (excluding pork and alcoholic drinks). Through sharia-compliant hotels, the group targets to welcome more tourists from the Middle East.

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Foreign tourist arrivals to Indonesia declined 3.99 percent year-on-year (y/y) to 723,039 tourists in January 2015 according to data from Statistics Indonesia released on Monday (02/03). The primary reason for this decline is that - this year - Chinese New Year fell in February, whereas last year this event fell in January thus boosting foreign tourist arrivals in January 2014. Therefore, it is expected that tourist arrivals in February 2015 will climb sharply neutralizing the decline in the previous month.

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Statistics Indonesia announced on Friday morning (02/01) that a total of 764,461 foreign tourists visited Indonesia in November 2014, down 5.32 percent from foreign visitor arrivals in the same month last year. Cumulatively, a total of 8.52 million tourists have visited Indonesia in the January-November 2014 period, up 7.29 percent from the same period in 2013. Arief Yahya, Indonesia’s Tourism Minister, is optimistic that this year’s target of welcoming 9.3 million foreign visitors - spending a total of USD $10.69 billion - will be achieved.

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Indonesia welcomed a total of 808,767 foreign tourists in October 2014, up 12.3 percent from the same month last year, according to official data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS). Meanwhile, on a month-to-month basis, foreign tourist arrivals rose 2.2 percent from September 2014. Suryamin, Chief at BPS, said that the highest percentage increases on a month-to-month basis occurred in Adi Sucipto International Airport (Yogyakarta), followed by the Port of Tanjung Priok (Jakarta), and Sultan Syarif Kasim II International Airport (Riau).

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On Monday (03/11), several important macroeconomic data were released by statistics Indonesia. Firstly, inflation was relatively high in October at 0.47 percent month-on-month (m/m). Secondly, Indonesia posted another trade deficit in September (USD $270 million). Thirdly, Indonesia's October manufacturing activity showed a contraction (the country’s manufacturing Purchasing Manages' Index fell to a 14-month low of 49.2 in October). Lastly, a total of 791,300 foreign tourists visited Indonesia in September.

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The Indonesian government should improve inter and intra island connectivity to boost the number of foreign and domestic tourists in Indonesia. Due to the country’s lack of quality and quantity of infrastructure, a number of Indonesian regions that contain huge tourist potential cannot be reached easily. This was one of the conclusions drawn at a dialogue about the progress made after the Masterplan for Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesia’s Economic Development (MP3EI) has been underway for three years.

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The number of foreign tourists visiting Indonesia increased 9.56 percent to 4.55 million in the first half of 2014 from 4.15 million foreign visitor arrivals in the same period last year. This result is considerably better than the government’s target of achieving an 8 percentage point growth in the first half of 2014. The Ministry for Tourism and Creative Economy is optimistic that this year’s target of welcoming 9.5 million foreign visitors in Indonesia will be realized. Last year, Indonesia was visited by 8.8 million foreign tourists.

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After seeing foreign tourist arrivals to Indonesia reach 752,363 in May 2014, Indonesian Minister for Tourism and Creative Economy Mari Elka Pangestu stated that it is highly likely for Indonesia to achieve its target of 9.5 million foreign tourist arrivals this year. In the first five months of 2014, 3.70 million foreign tourists visited the world’s largest archipelago, a 9.96 percentage point growth compared to the same period in 2013 (which was 3.36 million). As usual, most foreign visitors entered Indonesia in Bali.

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During the first three months of 2014, the total number of foreign tourist arrivals to Indonesia reached 2.22 million, a 10.07 percent increase from the first quarter in 2013 (2.02 million visitors). Suryamin, Head of Statistics Indonesia, said on Friday (02/05) that - as usual - most foreign tourists (816,470) entered Indonesia through Ngurah Rai International Airport on Bali, Indonesia's most popular island in terms of tourism. Other popular points of entry in Q1-2014 were Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (located just outside Jakarta) and Batam.

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Investments in Indonesia's tourism industry are primarily aimed at the hotel and restaurant sector. Indonesia's Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Mari Elka Pangestu said that investments in Indonesia's tourism industry reached a total of USD $602.6 million in 2013. This consisted of foreign investments (USD $462.5 million) and domestic investments (USD $140.2 million). Pangestu said that several domestic and foreign hotel operators are eager to expand their business in Indonesia as demand increases.

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As usual, we look at the latest available macroeconomic data of Indonesia to assess the strength of the national economy. Those who follow this monthly article should know that we are quite optimistic about the Indonesian economy as the majority of data are showing positive trends.

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At the 50th anniversary of the Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants Association in mid-February 2019, Indonesian President Joko Widodo emphasized that the tourism industry should become the biggest industry in Indonesia in terms of foreign exchange earnings. Indonesia – a huge Archipelago that consists of more than 17.000 islands – has so much to offer to (foreign) tourists, such as beautiful beaches and countryside, flora & fauna, diving spots, wildlife, culture, culinary, historic relics as well as vibrant city life. However, so far, it fails to tap its full potential.

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Players in Indonesia's tourism industry are optimistic that more than 15 million foreign tourists will visit Indonesia in full-year 2017. Based on the latest data from Indonesia's Statistics Agency (BPS), a total of 5.36 million foreigners went on holiday in the world's largest Archipelago in the first five months of 2017, up 20.9 percent (y/y) from foreign visitor arrivals in the same period one year earlier.

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Indonesia's Tourism Ministry is optimistic it can boost the number of American tourists who visit Indonesia by 25 percent to 375,000 individuals in 2017. Last year a total of 300,000 US citizens visited Indonesia for a holiday, up 11 percent year-on-year (y/y) from US visitor arrivals in the preceding year. Arief Yahya, Indonesian Tourism Minister, said the island of Bali is the favorite tourist destination for American tourists in Indonesia.

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Indonesia's Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said the government plans to offer the visa-free entry facility to 84 additional countries in 2016. This facility means that foreigners from designated countries do not need to obtain a visit visa before entering Indonesian territory (for visits under 30 days). This visa-free entry facility makes it easier for foreign tourists to enter Indonesia, and therefore it should boost tourist figures and foreign exchange earnings from the tourism industry.

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Indonesia was visited by 6.3 million foreign tourists in the first eight months of 2015, up 2.7 percent (y/y) from the same period last year. However, foreign visitor arrivals on Bali, the most popular tourist destination in Indonesia, fell 11.3 percent (y/y) in August due to the temporary closure of Bali's Ngurah Rai international airport as Mount Raung (located in East Java) spew volcanic ash into the sky. This led to a sharp drop in Australian tourists entering Bali.

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A total of 1,555,609 foreign tourists have visited the island of Bali, the most popular tourist destination in Indonesia, in the first five months of 2015, an 11.3 percentage point growth from the same period last year. Given that the number of foreign tourists usually peaks in the period June-September it is most likely that the government’s target of welcoming 4 million foreign tourists on Bali in 2015 will be achieved, or exceeded. Most tourists that visit Bali originate from Australia, China and Japan.

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The total number of foreign tourist arrivals to Indonesia in 2014 was 9.44 million, up 7.19 percent from the preceding year, meaning that the government target of welcoming 9.3 million foreign tourists last year was achieved. As usual, most foreign tourists entered Indonesia through the Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali, the most famous tourist destination in the world’s largest archipelago. During the whole year of 2014 a total of 3.71 million foreigners spent some time on Bali.

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Tourism in Indonesia has posted impressive growth rates in recent years. This development is due to the fact that Indonesia has plenty of beautiful sites and cultural traditions to offer to foreign (and domestic) tourists, improved airline accessibility to Indonesia, and enhanced focus on promotional campaigns in foreign countries. Lastly, and not unimportantly, there have been no violent terrorist attacks in recent years. In the 2000s, a vicious terrorist attack always resulted in a temporary drop in foreign tourist arrivals.

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With having more than 10,000 islands, Indonesia offers an unique natural scenery. The country contains all sorts of attractive options for tourism, including seas, beaches, mountains and much more. Not surprisingly, tourist arrivals in Indonesia continue to grow. Based on data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS), released in early November 2013, the number of foreign tourist arrivals between January and September 2013 reached 6.41 million, an increase of 8.8 percent from the same period last year.

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