Indonesia has great attractions for tourists with beautiful countryside, interesting cultures & historical remnants, beaches, nightlife (Jakarta and Bali), and much more. There are many surreal places in Indonesia, and together they offer a mix of outlandish island wonders and spine-chilling adventures. 

Indonesia is the go-to place for adventure lovers and tourists who seek peace and time alone. Indonesia is perfect with wild and extravagant adventures and many beautiful sights. Here, tourists come and pick their favorite and go to experience an adventure of a lifetime. Indonesia’s best islands and mountains always await wandering souls. Tourism has boomed in Indonesia in recent years and is becoming one of the main sources of foreign currency earnings.

Here, we are going to the impact of the recent global crisis Covid-19 on the Indonesian tourism sector in brief and some of the important and relevant statistics and trends. Then we have some toptrends and statistics about overall Indonesia’s tourism industry.

Covid-19 and Tourism Industry

Like many other tourist destinations, Covid-19 has had a negative impact on the tourism industry of Indonesia. The effect can be very clearly seen in Indonesia’s foreign exchange earnings decreased drastically in the tourism sector. In 2020 and 2021, the government and the Indonesian people went through a long process of adapting to this virus. Everything related to the tourism industry needs to be overhauled for the continued existence of the Indonesian tourism sector.

Community businesses that are included in the tourism industry are also affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, as is the souvenir industry. Covid-19 has harmed souvenir traders in Indonesia’s marine tourism areas because they have lost almost 100% of the income they should have earned from tourist visits. Hotel managers also faced uncertainty in those environmental conditions to survive. After the hotel industry, the public transportation industry also has the same lousy impact as the tourism industry in general.

However, the recovery process has started gradually. Indonesia has lifted all quarantine requirements for overseas visitors, two years after it imposed border restrictions to stem the spread of COVID-19.Tourism industry players are thinking to utilize other marketing strategies to market their products creatively. One such strategy is the sophistication of information technology as it can facilitate the government in supervising the implementation of safe travel in accordance with government recommendations.

Pre- and Post-Pandemic Trends and Statistics

  1. The decrease in international tourists led to negative quarterly growth of tourism receipts in Indonesia, with the island of Bali being particularly hard hit. 
  2. Foreign tourist arrival numbers to Bali decreased by 100%, affecting the island’s hospitality, food and beverage, and cultural sectors the hardest.
  3. To revive the island’s economy, in October 2021, the Indonesian governmentreopened Bali for international tourists.
  4. Starting in April 2022, international tourists visiting Bali, Batam, and BintanIslands are no longer required to undergo quarantine.
  5. International tourists also have to be fully vaccinated upon their arrival and tested negative.
  6. The Indonesian government had been heavily promoting domestic tourism to boost the industry.
  7. Although the number of domestic trips made in Indonesia far surpasses that of international visitors, domestic tourists spend on average around just half of what international visitors to Indonesia spend. 
  8. Indonesia has its own form–the Health Alert Card (e-HAC) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  9. The purpose of the form is to help monitor the health status of international visitors and protect public health from the spread of coronavirus.
  10. Now in 2022, All passengers must have a Completed Health Alert Card (e-HAC), a COVID-19 vaccination certificate showing full vaccination, and a Negative PCR test result, taken no more than 48 hours before departure to travel to Indonesia.
  11. Tourists arriving at Denpasar (DPS) or Batam (BTH) airport must also have confirmed accommodation and medical insurance.
  12. Children travelling with a parent or guardian do not need their own form. There is an option on the Health Alert Card application to include any dependent travellers.

Contribution of Tourism in Indonesia

  1. In 2017, the contribution of tourism to GDP amounted to IDR 536.8 trillion, 4.1% of Indonesia’s total GDP.
  2. In the same year, tourism provided 12.7 million jobs, representing 10.5% of total employment.
  3. Tourism receipts totalled IDR 200 billion and the sector outperformed the general growth of the Indonesian economy.
  4. In 2018, international arrivals reached 15.8 million, an increase of 12.6% compared to the previous year.
  5. China was the country’s main international source market (16% of tourists), followed by Singapore (13.2%),Malaysia (10.6%), and Australia (9.7%). The average length of stay was 8.6 days.
  6. In 2017, domestic tourism reached 270.8 million trips growing 2.4% over the previous year.
  7. In 2018, these numbers increased to 303.4 million trips, growing a significant 12%.
  8. Indonesia recorded a total of 4 million tourists in 2020.
  9. In 2020, Indonesia was ranked 44th in the world in absolute terms.
  10. With 0.015 tourists per resident, Indonesia ranked 179th in the world. In Southeast Asia, it ranked 10th.
  11. Indonesia generated around 3.53 billion US dollars in the tourism sector alone. This corresponds to 0.33% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and approximately 12% of all international tourism receipts in Southeast Asia.
  12. 3 cities (Denpasar, Jakarta, and Batam) in Indonesia are among the top 100 most popular destinations worldwide.
  13. In 2019, Denpasar reached 28th place with 8.58 million tourists.
  14. According to Euromonitor, all foreign tourists with at least one overnightstay were counted in Denpasar.
  15. On average, each of the tourists arriving in 2020spent about 737 US Dollars.
  16. The inhabitants of Indonesiaspend only around 574 dollarsa year when they spend vacations abroad.

Tourism Industry Insight

  1. In 2021, the Indonesian Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry had singled out five ‘super-priority’destinations to promote: Lake Toba in Sumatra, Borobudur in Java, Labuan Bajo in East Nusa Tenggara, Mandalika in West Nusa Tenggara, s Likupang in North Sulawesi.
  2. A budget of 351.6 billion Indonesian rupiahs is allocated in 2022 to develop these destinations further.
  3. Digital tourism, tourism 4.0, aims for more millennialtourists.
  4. Until 2017, among the total inbound tourists coming to Indonesia, 50% of them were millennials. In the future, the number is predicted to double.
  5. The Indonesian government has increased investments in improving transportation infrastructure to improve accessibility to tourist destinations.
  6. The second airport in Yogyakarta has been opened up to facilitate visits to the Borobudur Temple complex, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
  7. The online travel industry is currently Indonesia’s largest e-commerce industry (valued at ~USD9.3billion).
  8. E-commerce is predicted to be Indonesia’s largest online industry (estimated to be ~USD102 billion by 2025), the online travel is predicted to have a steady 15% year-on-year growth.
  9. With a 56% penetration of internet users in Indonesia, online travel is a glaring business opportunity that is rapidly growing.

Other Tourist-related Trends and Facts

  1. Most visitors to Bali do their best to avoid the rainy season (normally November to March).
  2. Indonesian Muslims are among some of the most hospitable people you will ever meet.
  3. Jakarta falls into the Top 10 most featured cities on Instagram worldwide.
  4. The city’s impressive skyline, tantalizing cuisine, and urban lifestyle are some of the most frequent shots posted on social.
  5. Indonesia is relatively affordable and offers friendly vibes, outdoor adventure, and a cultural buzz.
  6. Visitors can hike, bike or raft their way around most of the country.
  7. Lake Toba on the island of Sumatra is an immense volcanic lake where tourists come to kick back and relax and swim in the volcanically warmed waters.
  8. The Tanjung Puting National Park is a popular ecotourism destination, with many local tour companies offering multi-day boat tours to view wildlife and visit the research centers.
  9. Perched among stunning terraced rice fields, Ubud is considered the cultural heart of Bali and one of the top tourist attractions in Indonesia.
  10. In popular tourist areas, like Bali, the nativeswill chargeforeigners for checking out their land or taking pictures of them in their traditional dress.
  11. Indonesia is known for its spicy food, and finding good food that isn’t spicy could be difficult. 
  12. In the centre of Lake Toba lies a new island called, Pulau Samosir which is approximately the size of Singapore, here adventurous travellers come and visit Pulau Samosir to learn about the ancient Bataks that lived here who were cannibalistic head-hunters. 
  13. Sumatra in Indonesia allows travellers the opportunity to witness and marvel at wild orang-utans residing inthe jungle of Gunung LeuserNational Park close to the village of Bukit Lawang.
  14. Indonesia is the only place on earth to observe the Komodo dragon in the wild.

References

https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/6c4fc1cd-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/6c4fc1cd-en

https://www.covidpasscertificate.com/countries/indonesia/

https://www.worlddata.info/asia/indonesia/tourism.php

https://www.statista.com/topics/6871/travel-and-tourism-in-indonesia/#dossierContents__outerWrapper

https://www.investindonesia.go.id/en/article-investment/detail/indonesian-tourism-investment-how-is-it-looking

https://www.xendit.co/en/blog/indonesias-travel-tourism-trends/

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13683500.2021.1968803?journalCode=rcit20#:~:text=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com,billion%20arrivals)%20(UNWTO%2C%202020

https://thediplomat.com/2022/03/indonesia-lifts-quarantine-requirements-for-international-travelers/

https://traveltriangle.com/blog/beautiful-places-in-indonesia/

https://www.intrepidtravel.com/adventures/indonesia-facts/

https://www.touropia.com/tourist-attractions-in-indonesia/

https://www.gonomad.com/164942-what-locals-want-you-to-know-indonesia

https://12go.asia/en/indonesia/interesting-facts