JAKARTA (Bernama-Antara): Indonesia seeks to increase the contribution of its tourism sector to support the national economy, according to National Development Planning Minister Rachmat Pambudy, Indonesian news agency Antara reported.
"We know that tourists have a significant multiplier effect on the Indonesian economy. Both international and domestic tourists can be relied upon as a buffer for our economic growth," he said at the CORE Economic Outlook 2025 in Jakarta on Saturday (Nov 23).
"As this sector is indeed a key buffer for our economy, we must pay close attention to it," Pambudy added.
By the third quarter of 2024, Indonesia had welcomed 10.7 million foreign tourists, with an average expenditure of US$1,375.08 per visit.
For domestic tourism, as of September 2024, there had been 757.96 million trips.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister for Economic Affairs, at the Ministry of National Development Planning, Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti, highlighted the relatively low foreign exchange earnings from foreign tourists visiting Indonesia, compared to Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore.
For example, she noted, Indonesia's total foreign exchange from tourism is US$17 billion per year, while Thailand generates US$64.3 billion annually.
Citing another comparison, she said that the average spending per arrival in Australia is US$5,100, in Thailand is US$1,610, and in Singapore is US$1,060, while Indonesia's average is only US$1,050.
"Therefore, by 2029, we aim for tourism to contribute US$32 billion to US$39 billion in national foreign exchange, with 29 million people employed in the sector, a contribution of 5 per cent to GDP, and a 14.4 per cent increase in community welfare," she explained.
In the next five years, the ministry aims to raise the average expenditure of foreign tourists to US$1,600 per visit, boost tourism investment to Rp88.7 trillion (about US$5.59 billion), and generate Rp49.1 trillion (about US$3.09 billion) in contribution from the 13 Priority Tourism Destinations. - Bernama-Antara
