The number of foreign tourists that visited Indonesia in the first six months of 2013 grew 7.2 percent to 4.15 million compared to the same period in 2012. Elka Pangestu, minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, said that there has been a significant surge in visitors from Asia and the Middle East. Foreign visitor arrivals originating from the United Arab Emirates rose 91 percent, followed by Saudi Arabia (22.8 percent), China (19.2 percent), Egypt (17.1 percent) and Hong Kong (16 percent).

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Indonesia was visited by 6.3 million foreign tourists in the first eight months of 2015, up 2.7 percent (y/y) from the same period last year. However, foreign visitor arrivals on Bali, the most popular tourist destination in Indonesia, fell 11.3 percent (y/y) in August due to the temporary closure of Bali's Ngurah Rai international airport as Mount Raung (located in East Java) spew volcanic ash into the sky. This led to a sharp drop in Australian tourists entering Bali.

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Indonesia's main stock index (IHSG) took another large blow on Wednesday (03/07). The index fell 3.20 percent to 4,577.15 points as investors were worried after reading the revised outlook of the World Bank. The institution downgraded its forecast for economic growth in Indonesia in 2013 from 6.2 percent to 5.9 percent. Higher inflation, because of the recent subsidized fuel price hike, is expected to result in lower domestic consumption. The IDR rupiah posted a slight weakening to IDR 9,941.

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