Foreign tourists continue to boost Indonesia’s economy, with their spending reaching significant figures throughout 2024. The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported that the average expenditure per visitor was USD 1,391, or around Rp 22.86 million. Swiss tourists stood out as the highest spenders among all international visitors in Indonesia.
Acting Head of BPS, Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti, highlighted that the majority of tourist spending was allocated to essential needs, particularly accommodation and food.
“Tourists spent the most on accommodation and food and beverages, with these two categories making up 57.49% of total spending. On average, throughout 2024, foreign tourists spent around USD 1,391.85 while in Indonesia,” she said, as quoted by Antara. Accommodation took up 37.89% of their total spending, followed by food and beverages at 19.60%, while shopping and souvenirs accounted for 11.31%.
In the last quarter of 2024, the average spending per visitor was slightly lower, at USD 1,287 or about Rp 21.16 million. During this period, tourists stayed an average of 10.39 nights, with a significant portion of their expenses—57.49%—going toward food and beverages.
Tourist arrivals also saw substantial growth. In December 2024, Indonesia recorded 1,244,372 foreign visitors, marking a 13.95% increase from the previous month and an 8.72% rise compared to December 2023. Over the entire year, foreign arrivals totaled 13,902,420, up 19.05% from 2023.
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“The 2024 visitor numbers are the highest in the past five years since 2020. However, they remain lower than the pre-pandemic level in 2019, which saw 16.1 million arrivals,” Amalia added.
Malaysia contributed the largest number of tourists, with 2.278 million visits, followed by Australia with 1.67 million and Singapore with 1.408 million. Malaysian tourists spent an average of USD 693 or Rp 11.39 million per visit.
While Malaysia led in visitor numbers, Swiss tourists recorded the highest average expenditure in Indonesia. They spent an average of USD 2,194 or Rp 36.07 million per visit, followed by visitors from the United States at USD 2,182 (Rp 35.87 million) and Austria at USD 2,175 (Rp 35.75 million).
Indonesia’s tourism sector has shown remarkable recovery, with rising visitor numbers and increased spending. However, the figures indicate that there is still room for growth to reach pre-pandemic levels.