In a recent press release from the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy/Baparekraf, it was revealed that foreign tourist arrivals to Indonesia from January to August 2024 reached an impressive 9.09 million. This marks a 20.38 percent increase compared to the same period in 2023.
Speaking at The Weekly Brief With Sandi Uno at the Sapta Pesona Building in Central Jakarta on Monday (7/10/2024), Nia Niscaya, Adyatama Tourism and Creative Economy Main Expert at the Ministry, explained that the government had set a lower target of 10.41 million visits and an upper target of 14.3 million visits for 2024.
“With the current achievement, we have reached 87.35 percent of the lower target and 63.59 percent of the upper target,” Nia said. She also highlighted that tourists from Malaysia, Australia, China, Singapore, and Timor Leste were the top five sources of international visitors. Key entry points, such as Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport, are on track to meet and exceed the lower target, with nearly 2.95 million tourists passing through its gates.
However, Nia pointed out that there is still significant work to be done at the Batam-Bintan or Riau Islands (Kepri) gateways, which have seen fewer than 700,000 tourist arrivals. She further noted the importance of comparing foreign and domestic tourist numbers to understand travel trends. Cumulatively, the number of foreign tourists from January to August 2024 totaled 5.99 million.
“There’s still a surplus of 3.10 million visits, which is encouraging. However, we hope to see further growth in foreign arrivals and a slight decrease in domestic travel,” she explained. This fluctuation in domestic tourism may be linked to the end of school holidays.
Malaysia remains the top destination for domestic tourists, followed by Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand, and Timor Leste. The main departure points for domestic travelers include Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Hang Nadim International Airport, Kualanamu International Airport, and Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport.
Nia also emphasized that foreign tourist numbers depend heavily on flight seat availability. According to Amadeus Travel Intelligence, projections for flight seat capacity usage from January to December 2024 indicate that 67 percent (15.8 million seats) will be used for foreign tourists, while 33 percent (7.7 million seats) will be allocated to domestic travelers.
“This data shows positive trends in accessibility for foreign tourists, thanks in part to the Ministry of Transportation’s efforts to improve flight access,” Nia said.
She also addressed the gap between interest in Indonesia as a destination and actual bookings. According to Amadeus data, there were 858 million searches for Indonesian destinations in 2024, but only 1.54 million bookings were made—a conversion rate of just 0.2 percent.
“This indicates there is still room for growth in converting interest into actual visits. We need to continue working to keep Indonesia top of mind for potential tourists,” Nia concluded.
As for domestic tourism, there were 674.60 million domestic trips from January to August 2024, representing a 19.20 percent increase compared to the same period in 2023. However, this figure only represents 53.97 percent of the 1.25 billion trip lower target, and 44.97 percent of the upper target of 1.5 billion trips.
The Ministry remains optimistic that, with continued efforts, Indonesia will meet its ambitious tourism goals for 2024.
Source and Image: Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy Press Release
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