Statistics Indonesia (BPS) released various economic data today (01/10) - including inflation, the trade balance and manufacturing activity - that give a good indication about the state of the Indonesian economy. Although not all data was positive, market participants were content, evidenced by an appreciating rupiah exchange rate and rising Indonesian stocks. Based on the Bloomberg Dollar Index, the rupiah appreciated 0.43 percent to IDR 12,135 per US dollar, while the Jakarta Composite Index climbed 0.06 percent on Tuesday (01/10).

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The Indonesian government should improve inter and intra island connectivity to boost the number of foreign and domestic tourists in Indonesia. Due to the country’s lack of quality and quantity of infrastructure, a number of Indonesian regions that contain huge tourist potential cannot be reached easily. This was one of the conclusions drawn at a dialogue about the progress made after the Masterplan for Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesia’s Economic Development (MP3EI) has been underway for three years.

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The number of foreign tourists visiting Indonesia increased 9.56 percent to 4.55 million in the first half of 2014 from 4.15 million foreign visitor arrivals in the same period last year. This result is considerably better than the government’s target of achieving an 8 percentage point growth in the first half of 2014. The Ministry for Tourism and Creative Economy is optimistic that this year’s target of welcoming 9.5 million foreign visitors in Indonesia will be realized. Last year, Indonesia was visited by 8.8 million foreign tourists.

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After seeing foreign tourist arrivals to Indonesia reach 752,363 in May 2014, Indonesian Minister for Tourism and Creative Economy Mari Elka Pangestu stated that it is highly likely for Indonesia to achieve its target of 9.5 million foreign tourist arrivals this year. In the first five months of 2014, 3.70 million foreign tourists visited the world’s largest archipelago, a 9.96 percentage point growth compared to the same period in 2013 (which was 3.36 million). As usual, most foreign visitors entered Indonesia in Bali.

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On 4 May 2014, Indonesia Investments released the latest edition of its newsletter. This free newsletter, which is sent to our subscribers once per week, contains the most important news stories from Indonesia that have been reported on our website in the last seven days. Most of the topics involve economic topics such as macroeconomic assumptions of the Indonesian government, April inflation, the March trade balance, April manufacturing, an update on the rupiah, the 2014 presidential election, and more.

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During the first three months of 2014, the total number of foreign tourist arrivals to Indonesia reached 2.22 million, a 10.07 percent increase from the first quarter in 2013 (2.02 million visitors). Suryamin, Head of Statistics Indonesia, said on Friday (02/05) that - as usual - most foreign tourists (816,470) entered Indonesia through Ngurah Rai International Airport on Bali, Indonesia's most popular island in terms of tourism. Other popular points of entry in Q1-2014 were Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (located just outside Jakarta) and Batam.

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Investments in Indonesia's tourism industry are primarily aimed at the hotel and restaurant sector. Indonesia's Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Mari Elka Pangestu said that investments in Indonesia's tourism industry reached a total of USD $602.6 million in 2013. This consisted of foreign investments (USD $462.5 million) and domestic investments (USD $140.2 million). Pangestu said that several domestic and foreign hotel operators are eager to expand their business in Indonesia as demand increases.

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At the end of last week, Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo (better known as Jokowi) inaugurated the Kota Tua revitalization program in North Jakarta. Kota Tua (Old Batavia) is the oldest part of Jakarta, spanning 1.3 square kilometres, and used to be the center of Dutch colonial rule in the 17th and 18th century (in the 19th century the Dutch moved its administrative center to the south). Today, Kota Tua still breathes a colonial atmosphere through the old architecture and museums, attracting tourists on a daily basis.

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The number of foreign tourists that visited Indonesia in January 2014 surged 22.6 percent to 753,079 from the same month last year. As usual, most tourists entered Indonesia through the Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali, the most popular tourist destination of foreigners, followed by Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and Batam. A remarkable growth was detected in foreign visitor arrivals in Lombok, growing by 374 percent (yoy). However, this development was not explained by Statistics Indonesia in its press conference.

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In 2013 Indonesia managed to attract a record number of foreign tourists. Around 8.8 million foreigners entered Indonesia - mostly in Bali - last year, a 9.42 percent increase from 2012, and earning up to USD $10.05 billion in foreign exchange (up 10.23 percent from 2012). Indonesia's tourism sector thus grew at a faster pace in 2013 than the general economy (5.78 percent) and now accounts for 3.8 percent (IDR 347.35 trillion) of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). However, this is still a low figure compared to its regional peers.

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A total of 1,555,609 foreign tourists have visited the island of Bali, the most popular tourist destination in Indonesia, in the first five months of 2015, an 11.3 percentage point growth from the same period last year. Given that the number of foreign tourists usually peaks in the period June-September it is most likely that the government’s target of welcoming 4 million foreign tourists on Bali in 2015 will be achieved, or exceeded. Most tourists that visit Bali originate from Australia, China and Japan.

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On 12-13 May, the Hospitality Investment Conference Indonesia (HICI) 2015 will be held in Jakarta. The event, a collaboration between the Jakarta International Hotels Association, the Indonesian Hotel & Restaurant Association (Perhimpunan Hotel dan Restoran Indonesia) and Sphere Conferences (the conference arm of Singapore Press Holdings Limited), aims to become the leading platform in addressing opportunities and challenges in Indonesia’s hotel and hospitality industry.

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Indonesian Minister for Economic Affairs, Sofyan Djalil, announced an economic policy package that is to be implement to boost the Indonesian economy, particularly in a move to improve the country’s current account balance, which is the broadest measurement of foreign exchange flows, including trade, services, interest payments and remittances. One new policy change involves visa-free travel into Indonesia. Starting from April 2015, Indonesia will allow foreigners from an additional 30 countries to enter Indonesia without a visa.

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The total number of foreign tourist arrivals to Indonesia in 2014 was 9.44 million, up 7.19 percent from the preceding year, meaning that the government target of welcoming 9.3 million foreign tourists last year was achieved. As usual, most foreign tourists entered Indonesia through the Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali, the most famous tourist destination in the world’s largest archipelago. During the whole year of 2014 a total of 3.71 million foreigners spent some time on Bali.

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Tourism in Indonesia has posted impressive growth rates in recent years. This development is due to the fact that Indonesia has plenty of beautiful sites and cultural traditions to offer to foreign (and domestic) tourists, improved airline accessibility to Indonesia, and enhanced focus on promotional campaigns in foreign countries. Lastly, and not unimportantly, there have been no violent terrorist attacks in recent years. In the 2000s, a vicious terrorist attack always resulted in a temporary drop in foreign tourist arrivals.

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The western banking collapse of 2008 did more than cost investors large sums of money, it exposed markets to a renewed sense of vulnerability in that is typically thought of as the world’s most stable financial institutions. But one of the unintended (or unforeseen) results of these events has been the upsurge in alternative retirement destinations for those that are ending their working careers. Perhaps most surprising is the upsurge in the number of retirees moving to the Asia-Pacific region.

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With having more than 10,000 islands, Indonesia offers an unique natural scenery. The country contains all sorts of attractive options for tourism, including seas, beaches, mountains and much more. Not surprisingly, tourist arrivals in Indonesia continue to grow. Based on data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS), released in early November 2013, the number of foreign tourist arrivals between January and September 2013 reached 6.41 million, an increase of 8.8 percent from the same period last year.

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Whenever the topic of tourism in Indonesia is touched upon, most people will instantly think of Bali. This small but famous island harbors all sorts of entertainment that will appeal to various segments of international tourism: beautiful landscapes, Balinese Hinduism, lively nightclubs, beaches and more. But apart from Bali - and despite the fact that Indonesia has much to offer on other islands - the country has disappointed in attracting a large amount of foreign tourists so far.

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