This 2023 Indonesia has the ambitious target of drawing up to 7.4 million foreign visitors, nearly twice as many as it saw in 2018.
Tourism Minister Sandiaga Uno told reporters “Our target for next year is to have between 3.5 million and 7.4 million foreign tourists visiting Indonesia. We are aiming to generate between $2.07 billion and $5.95 billion in foreign exchange earnings in 2023”.
As of October 2022, according to government statistics, Indonesia welcomed 3.92 million foreign visitors. This indicates that, even before the end-of-year vacation rush, Indonesia had already surpassed its goal of 3.6 million foreign tourist arrivals from 2022.
One of the most visited destinations in Indonesia is Komodo Island, which was voted one of the 7 Wonders of Nature. These volcanic islands are inhabited by a population of approximately 5,700 giant lizards, whose aggressive appearance and behaviour have given them the name of Komodo Dragons. Komodo is the only place in the world where such creatures can be admired, and thus why so many tourists choose to visit it every year.
Data showed that $4.26 billion of Indonesia’s foreign exchange revenues came from the tourism industry. This was a nearly tenfold increase from the $490 million in 2021 statistics. Sandiaga credited Indonesia’s improvement in Covid-19 pandemic management, among other things, to the country’s significant foreign exchange profits. The decision to reinstate the visa-on-arrival programme in the nation resulted in an increase of foreign travellers.
“And us hosting the G20 and other international events, including the Mandalika MotoGP, has been a boon for the tourism sector,” the minister said.
The Tourism Ministry projects that at least 123,000 foreign travellers will plan trips to Indonesia in 2023. Up to next November, Australia, South Korea, the UK, France, and Germany are anticipated to be the top five foreign tourist markets.