The Indonesian Ministry of Tourism (Kemenpar) announced its target of attracting up to 16 million foreign tourists into the country for the coming year.

The target figure was presented during the ministry’s year-end press conference held on Friday, 20th December.

Tourism minister Widyanti Putri Wardhana declared: “We are aiming for between 14.6 and 16 million foreign tourist arrivals next year.”

This is slightly higher than the 14.3 million target announced for 2024.

In terms of domestic tourism, the ministry has set its target to 1.08 billion trips in 2025. 

This figure is slightly lower than the 2023 and 2024 targets, which were set between 1.2 and 1.4 billion trips.

Wardhana also  stated that the projected number of foreign tourist arrivals in December is estimated to range between 1 million to 1.325 million visits. 

This projection aligns with the anticipated revenue generation from these visits, which is projected to be between Rp22.5 trillion and Rp29.2 trillion.

Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), Indonesia recorded 11.6 million foreign tourist arrivals by October 2024. 

While this figure falls short of the 2024 target, Wardhana noted that it exceeds the lower limit of the target, which was set at 10.4 million visits.

Tourism economics

Likewise, the ministry seeks to increase the tourism sector’s economic contribution to Indonesia’s gross domestic product (GDP) to 4.6 percent in 2025.

Foreign exchange earnings for the coming year are projected to range between US$19 billion to US$22.1 billion. 

The target employment total for the tourism sector is set at 25.8 million people.

The private sector weighs in

Association of the Indonesian Tours and Travel Agencies secretary-general Budjianto Ardiansjah previously suggested that the ministry prioritises attracting more foreign tourists to achieve its ambitious targets. 

Ardiansjah called for a review of the Visa Free Short Stay (BVKS) policy to facilitate entry for tourists from key source markets, such as China and Australia.

He also suggested that the ministry needs to focus on targeted marketing and promotional campaigns, highlighting the need to conduct thorough market research to identify and prioritize high-demand markets, ensuring that promotional efforts are effectively targeted and yield optimal results.

In which case, the Ministry of Tourism needs to improve human resources within the tourism sector and address the issue of airfare costs to maintain the attractiveness of Indonesia as a travel destination.