JAKARTA: Foreign tourist arrivals are expected to remain below pre-pandemic levels, even as the sector shows steady post-pandemic recovery.
Experts pointed to intensifying competition from neighbouring countries, limited diversification beyond popular destinations such as Bali and a lack of “major breakthroughs” in promoting Indonesian tourism.
Indonesia welcomed 12.76 million foreign arrivals as of October, marking a 10.32% year-on-year increase, with the figure expected to rise to 15.31 million by the end of the year, according to the Tourism Ministry’s latest report.
If achieved, the projection would extend the annual increase in cumulative foreign tourist arrivals since 2021, although it would still fall short of the pre-pandemic peak of 16.1 million visitors recorded in 2019.
Speaking at a press conference, Tourism Minister Widiyanti Putri Wardhana said that Indonesia was nevertheless becoming “increasingly attractive and competitive” to global tourists.
This trend is reflected in inbound tourism continuing to outpace outbound travel, resulting in a surplus of 5.21 million visitors in the first 10 months of the year, up from 4.18 million in the same period last year, she explained.
Widiyanti added that the ministry had intensified efforts to promote Indonesia’s tourism and boost foreign arrivals, including by focusing promotional activities on 15 target markets, which together accounted for 72% of cumulative inbound tourism, led by Malaysia with a 17% share.
“Throughout 2025, we have carried out various collaborations with our partners through integrated cooperation, familiarisation trips, business matching and participation in exhibitions,” she said.
Experts, however, said that despite the upward trend, the country’s tourist sector had yet to stage a significant recovery amid a lack of innovation and lingering structural issues.
Azril Azhari, chairman of the Indonesian Tourism Expert Association, told The Jakarta Post that there had been no meaningful boost to accelerate the industry’s growth this year.
Beyond the number of international travellers, Azril pointed out that tourism’s contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) also continued to lag behind pre-pandemic levels.
Data from the Tourism Ministry showed that the sector contributed 3.96% of GDP as of the third quarter of this year. While this figure is projected to reach 4.9% by year-end, it would still be slightly below the 4.97% recorded in 2019. The industry “needs a breakthrough,” Azril said, such as strengthening the ecosystem in tourism destinations.
He also underscored the importance of enforcing carrying-capacity measures, which relate to the maximum level of tourism a destination can accommodate, as well as the need to shift toward “customised tourism,” particularly special-interest segments such as health and wellness tourism.
Tourism expert Janianton Damanik from Gadjah Mada University argued that attracting international tourists has become increasingly difficult amid heightened competition from other countries.
Domestic tourism growth, meanwhile, has been moving at a much faster pace, given that it captures all domestic trips within a relatively narrow geographical scope, he told the Post.
The Tourism Ministry reported that domestic tourism had surged to a “record high,” with trips rising 18.89% year-on-year to 997.91 million as of October. The figure is projected to reach 1.21 billion trips by year-end, surpassing the pre-pandemic level of 722 million trips recorded in 2019.
In contrast, Indonesia’s inbound tourism continues to lag behind its regional peers, trailing Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore in 2024. Leading the region’s tourism recovery, Vietnam is set to welcome more than 21 million foreign tourists this year, exceeding its pre-pandemic level of 18 million in 2019.
“Vietnam, although considered a newcomer, has large market segments from neighbouring countries, especially China, which has become a major contributor to its inbound tourism,” Janianton said.
He explained that Vietnam’s recovery has been supported by better infrastructure and improved connectivity, enabling travellers to reach multiple destinations at lower costs than in Indonesia.
Tourism expert Chusmeru also raised long-standing concerns over Indonesia’s connectivity issues, which have hindered tourism growth. But he said that growth ultimately hinged on adequate infrastructure and well-developed tourism sites. —The Jakarta Post/ANN
