Tourism in Indonesia
Tourism in Indonesia is an important component of the
Indonesian economy as well as a significant source of its
foreign exchange
revenues. The vast country of sprawling archipelago has much to offer;
from natural beauty, historical heritage to cultural diversity.
According to the
World Travel and Tourism Council,
the direct contribution of travel and tourism to Indonesia's GDP in
2014 was IDR 325,467 billion (US$26,162 million) constituting 3.2% of
the total GDP. By 2019, the Indonesian government wants to have doubled
this figure to 8 percent of GDP and the number of visitors needs to
double to about 20 million.
[1] The tourism sector ranked as the 4th largest among goods and services export sectors.
[2]
In year 2015, 9.73 million international visitors entered Indonesia,
staying in hotels for an average of 7.5 nights and spending an average
of US$1,142 per person during their visit, or US$152.22 per person per
day.
[1] Singapore, Malaysia, China, Australia, and Japan are the top five sources of visitors to Indonesia.
The
Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2015
ranks Indonesia 50th out of 141 countries overall. The report ranks the
price competitiveness of Indonesia's tourism sector the 3rd out of 141
countries. It mentions that Indonesia has quite good travel and tourism
policy and enabling conditions (ranked 9th). The country also scores
quite good on natural and cultural resources (ranked 17th). However, the
country scored rather low in infrastructure sub-index (ranked 75th), as
some aspect of tourist service infrastructure are underdeveloped.
[3]
In 2016, the government was reported to be investing more in tourism
development by attracting more foreign investors. The government has
given priority to 10 destinations as follows: Borobudur, Central Java;
Mandalika, West Nusa Tenggara; Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara;
Bromo-Tengger-Semeru, East Java; Thousand Islands, Jakarta; Toba, North
Sumatra; Wakatobi, Southeast Sulawesi; Tanjung Lesung, Banten; Morotai,
North Maluku; and Tanjung Kelayang, Belitung. As quoted in the Jakarta
Post, the government is aiming for 275 million trips by domestic
tourists by end of 2019.
[4]
The government has also secured commitments from potential investors,
totalling US$70 million in the areas of building accommodation, marina
and ecotourism facilities in 3 of the 10 areas.
[4]