JAKARTA: Indonesia is struggling to capitalise on the global sports tourism boom, a multibillion-dollar opportunity that countries are increasingly chasing through hosting major sporting events.
The latest setback is the uncertain future of MotoGP at the Mandalika circuit in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), raising concerns that the country could lose another high-profile event after the Formula E and F1 Powerboat races were discontinued.
Youth and Sports Minister Erick Thohir said after the race at Mandalika on Oct 11 that Indonesia had yet to decide whether to extend its MotoGP contract, which expires this year.
Despite a record 157,000 spectators attending the race, he said the decision would depend on President Prabowo Subianto’s direction and an evaluation of the event as the initial five-year contract term draws to a close.
“Hopefully, he will be the one to announce it,” Erick said, while expressing support for continuing the event and claiming it had helped reduce poverty in surrounding areas by nearly 3 per centage points.
Dorna, meanwhile, has indicated that it is ready to continue the partnership, with Deputy CEO Carlos Ezpeleta saying the company had a five-plus-five-year agreement with the Indonesian government and planned to remain in Mandalika until at least 2031, as quoted by Detik on Oct 6.
However, Dorna’s commitment does not mean the extension has been formally approved by Indonesia, InJourney Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) said.
“Dorna has said go, but Indonesia has not. We are the government and a state-owned enterprise [SOE], so we cannot make a unilateral decision,” Troy Reza Warokka, operations director of the state-owned tourism developer, said on Oct 6, as quoted by RRI.
He said the discussions would involve the Youth and Sports Ministry, the Finance Ministry, state investment agency Danantara and the NTB provincial administration.
Troy said the government would assess ticket sales and the race’s overall performance before deciding on a contract extension.
The 2026 MotoGP race generated an estimated Rp 5 trillion (US$277.7 million) in economic spillovers, according to the Tourism Ministry, benefiting businesses from hotels and transport operators to food vendors and small enterprises.
The National Development Planning Ministry (Bappenas) also estimated that the 2025 Mandalika MotoGP generated Rp 2.7 trillion to Rp 4.7 trillion in economic impact, while global media exposure was valued at €361.6 million (Rp 6.9 trillion) in advertising value equivalency for Indonesia and Mandalika.
However, Tourism Minister Widiyanti Putri Wardhana said the government needs to ensure such events deliver longer-term tourism and economic benefits beyond race weekend.
On Sept 30, Minister Erick said Indonesia could capture only Rp 39.5 trillion, or 0.4 per cent, of the estimated Rp 9.5 quadrillion in global sports tourism potential.
“Sports have huge potential that we sometimes overlook and fail to recognise,” he said at the time, as quoted by CNBC Indonesia.
International events drop off MotoGP’s uncertain future comes as other international sporting events previously hosted in Indonesia have disappeared from this year’s calendar.
Jakarta’s Formula E race, held in 2022, 2023 and 2025, is absent from the 2026 calendar after its original three-season contract.
Ahead of the 2025 race, Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung said he had asked city-owned developer Jakpro to negotiate a lower hosting fee to make an extension more affordable.
Lake Toba in North Sumatra will also miss the Aquabike Jetski World Championship and F1 Powerboat World Championship (F1H2O) in 2026, despite earlier assurances that it would host F1 Powerboat race through 2027.
The events’ absence comes despite Prabowo’s call last August to continue MotoGP and F1 Powerboat to boost tourism and improve access for international visitors, Coordinating Economy Minister Airlangga Hartarto said at the time.
Most of these sporting events were held at priority destinations designated by the Tourism Ministry to divert tourists from overcrowded Bali, meaning their cancellation would make it harder for the government to distribute tourism more evenly across the country.
The absence of several international sporting events coincides with slower growth in foreign tourist arrivals and improving tourism competitiveness among regional destinations.
Statistics Indonesia (BPS) recorded 10.58 million international tourist visits from January to August 2026, nearing the 10.71 million recorded in the same period in 2019, but growth slowed to 5.38 per cent year-on-year (yoy) from 10.39 per cent in 2025 and 20.38 per cent in 2024.
Indonesia has also slipped a rank in the World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Development Index 2026, released on Sept 24, compared with its 2024 position, although it remained 12 places higher than in 2019.
By comparison, Vietnam climbed seven places from 2024 and 10 places from 2019, while Thailand rose 10 places from 2024 and one place from 2019.
The Philippines improved its ranking by 12 places from 2024 and eight places from 2019 while Malaysia rose 13 places from 2024 and two places from 2019. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
