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Starting from 2019 local authorities on Bali plan to impose a USD $10 levy on every foreign tourist who enters the popular tourist island. Meanwhile, the levy on the entry of a domestic tourist would be IDR 10,000 (approx. USD $0.70).
The flow of tourists to Bali, Indonesia's top tourist destination, is gradually recovering after the eruption of Mount Agung (although the volcano is still showing activity). Therefore, Indonesian Tourism Minister Arief Yahya is optimistic that Bali will welcome at least seven million foreign tourists in full-year 2018.
Indonesia will evaluate its visa-free policy as there are reports that some foreigners abuse this facility by conducting illegal activities in Indonesia, for example by taking up employment without having a work permit, engaging in drug trafficking, or spreading radical ideologies in the Archipelago. Through Presidential Regulation no. 21/2016 on Exemptions of Visit Visa, the government of Indonesia allowed citizens from a total of 169 countries to enter and stay within Indonesia (for a maximum period of 30 days).
It is highly likely that Indonesia will achieve its foreign visitor arrival target of 12 million people in 2016. In the first ten months of 2016 a total of 9.4 million foreigners already visited Indonesia, up 9.5 percent year-on-year (y/y) compared to foreign visitor arrivals in the same period one year earlier. Moreover, before the year-end, Indonesia's Tourism Ministry will organize several events - including a soccer tournament on the island of Bintan as well as the Festival Wonderful Indonesia - that should attract many additional foreign tourist arrivals.
The number of foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia reached 5.29 million in the first half of 2016, up 5.9 percent (y/y) from the same period one year earlier. This implies that only 44 percent of the government's full-year target has been achieved so far. Indonesia's Tourism Ministry targets to welcome a total of 12 million foreign visitors in 2016. Meanwhile, according to the latest data from Indonesia's Statistics Agency (BPS), foreign visitor arrivals declined in June 2016, both on a monthly and annual basis.
Based on the latest data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS), Indonesia only managed to welcome 9.73 million foreign tourists in 2015, hence failing to achieve the government target at 10 million foreign tourist arrivals. However, BPS also mentioned that it has developed a new counting system. According to this new system the number of people that are counted as foreign tourists in 2015 is 10.41 million, thus considerably exceeding the target set for 2015. What are the differences between these two systems?
Indonesia's state news agency Antara reported on Friday (29/01) that the government of Indonesia will sign a regulation next week that allows visa-free visits for 80 additional countries, including Australia. Currently, a total of 90 countries already enjoy this visa-free facility (for trips that last a maximum of 30 days). Antara quoted the words of the country's Deputy Tourism Minister for Overseas Promotion I Gde Pitana. In 2015 the government provided this facility to an additional 45 countries in an effort to boost the tourism industry and generate more foreign exchange earnings.
Although the Indonesian government scrapped visit visa requirements for another 45 countries in mid-2015 (for a maximum stay period in Indonesia of 30 days) - with the aim of attracting more tourists - there has not been a marked increase in foreign tourist arrivals in 2015. Therefore it is unlikely that Indonesia will achieve its target of welcoming 10 million foreign tourists in 2015. In the first ten months of the year a total of 8.0 million foreign tourist arrivals were reported.
Although the Indonesian government's target of welcoming 20 million foreign tourists by 2019 seems highly ambitious given that Indonesia may fail to achieve its target of seeing 10 million foreign visitor arrivals in 2015, several analysts claim that this target is too low. They believe that the target should be raised to 33 million foreign visitors, earning USD $40 billion in foreign exchange, hence replacing crude palm oil as the country's leading foreign exchange earner. However, this new target would only be possible if the government is serious about developing its 10 designated tourist destinations.
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.
Latest Columns Foreign Tourist Arrivals
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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