Indonesia, known for its beaches, volcanoes, jungles that are home to elephants, orangutans and tigers and the island of Komodo (one of the New 7 Natural Wonders of the world) where the prehistoric Komodo dragons live, foresees strong growth this 2024, pointing to Sustainable tourism, increasingly in demand by visitors from all over the planet.
According to a report published by the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of Indonesia, a survey carried out among experts in the sector, ensures that there will be significant growth for tourism in 2024.
To stimulate growth, the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy/Tourism and Creative Economy Agency (Kemenparekraf/Baparekraf) conducted a survey of 84 experts and leaders from academia, government and the tourism industry, titled: “Tourism and economic perspective creative 2023/2024”.
The Ministry maintained that the Covid-19 pandemic severely impacted the tourism and economic sectors. However, after a long struggle focused on national economic recovery, the growth of tourism and economy sectors in Indonesia have begun to show a bright side.
This is evident in the increase in domestic tourist movements and foreign tourist visits to Indonesia. The number of national tourist movements in the first half of 2023 reached 433.57 million trips, 12.57% more than 2022.
Meanwhile, the number of foreign tourist visits as of July 2023 reached 6.31 million visits, an increase of 196.85% compared to 2022.
Without a doubt, visitors who choose Indonesia are not only looking for the beaches of Bali, but also to discover the nature that characterizes the place and also visit, among other things, the island of Komodo (one of the New 7 Natural Wonders of the world since 2011). The unique Komodo dragons live here, considered the largest lizard in the world, with an average length of two to three meters and a weight of about 70 kilos.
Tourism revival towards sustainability
According to the survey, 76.19% of experts believe that tourism conditions in Indonesia are currently in the process of recovery. 35.71% of experts are optimistic that tourism conditions will recover to pre-pandemic levels in 2024. Especially considering that 2023 closed with more than 7.5 million foreign tourist visits in 2023.
The majority of experts (46.15%) believe that the development of quality and innovative tourism destinations plays a vital role in the future growth of the tourism sector. On the other hand, other factors influence the growth of the tourism sector in Indonesia.
From the role of technology supporting ease of travel (43.59%), increasing domestic tourist income (38.46%) and expanding international air routes and infrastructure (35.90%).
Most experts believe that the Southeast Asian and East Asian traveler markets are driving the growth of Indonesia’s tourism sector. China, Malaysia and Australia are countries that have the potential to contribute to the development of the tourism sector.
Sustainable tourism
Sustainable tourism is predicted to become a trend in Indonesian tourism. Therefore, 56.76% of experts agree that the demand for eco-friendly tourism options is a trend that many tourists are interested in both in 2023 and will continue in 2024.
To achieve these objectives, several prioritized steps must be taken to help increase the added value of tourism. One is to focus on developing infrastructure and support facilities for tourism destinations to improve the quality of services and safety for tourists.
The preservation and development of local culture should also be considered to make the tourism experience more authentic and meaningful.
Experts said that promoting sustainability and environmental responsibility in all aspects of tourism development and activities and improving accessibility by land, sea and air to destinations with higher potential is very important.
Furthermore, the experts suggested strengthening public education and understanding of sustainable, quality and regenerative tourism to help maintain the sustainability and quality of tourism in Indonesia.
Finally, with the optimism of experts in the revitalization of the tourism sector and the creative economy, they announced that they can help achieve the objective of 8.5 million visits by foreign tourists, 1.4 billion movements of domestic tourists and the opening of 4 .4 million jobs by 2024.