Indonesia’s Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, announced that around 754,000 foreign tourists visited Indonesia in January 2023.
Sandiaga cited data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) that showed an increase in the number of foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia in January 2023 compared to the same period last year.
He said, “Compared to January 2022 (the number of foreign tourist arrivals) has increased by up to 503.34 percent,” in a press release on Tuesday (7/3/2023).
The top five countries that contributed to the tourist arrivals were Malaysia, Australia, Singapore, Timor Leste, and India.
Sandiaga noted that the government would continue to support various activities to boost the number of foreign tourist arrivals in the country.
Sandiaga explained that Indonesia is currently entering the low season, so it is expected that the number of foreign tourists to Indonesia will decrease.
To address this decline, Kemenparekraf (the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy) has partnered with several airlines to offer attractive promotions.
Additionally, they have also launched activation programs through fam trips and participation in the largest international exhibitions such as SATTE 2023 in India and ITB Berlin in Germany, where Sandiaga will attend, and investment roadshows in Hong Kong.
Earlier, the Kemenparekraf had set a target of 7.4 million foreign tourist arrivals and 1.2-1.4 billion domestic tourist movements throughout 2023.
Despite the threat of a recession in 2023, Sandiaga remains optimistic that Indonesia’s tourism sector still has a good chance next year, particularly with the lifting of the PPKM policy.
To achieve the target, Kemenparekraf, together with relevant stakeholders, will maximize its efforts by preparing various programs, particularly those that offer high-quality and sustainable tourism with nature and culture as the main attractions.
