Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy has announced its target for international arrivals in 2022, with 1.6–1.8 million tourists expected to make the trip in the coming months. Although the Omicron variant continues to dampen hopes in Q1, it is hoped that a slow start will soon give way to a more optimistic 2022.
The projected figure represents a modest improvement on last year, when the archipelago welcomed just 1.5 million visitors from abroad. By focusing on quality rather than quantity in 2022, the government expects to maximise both the revenue generated by tourism receipts and the reputation of Indonesia’s tourism offerings.
“The number of foreign tourists used to be the number we always pursued,” explained Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Uno, in a written statement released on Tuesday (4/1), “but we are focusing on quality and sustainable tourism this time,” he added. With around 260–280 million visits expected from domestic tourists, the Minister expects the cumulative value of the creative economy to reach Rp1.2 trillion in 2022.
Indonesia’s deputy for strategic policy, Kurleni Ukar, added that the tourism ministry has agreed the target with the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), and has deliberately set a relatively low number as a baseline on which to build and – hopefully – exceed expectations in the year ahead.
Nia Niscaya, who is deputy of marketing at the ministry, has confirmed that Indonesia will be focusing its efforts on a ‘dynamic range of countries’ in the months ahead, adapting its response according to the ever-changing Covid-19 situation.
With an approach guided by close collaboration with the Ministry of Health, tourism officials have initially identified Australia, India and Japan as key source markets. Batam and Bintang are being presented as destinations for Malaysian and Singaporean travellers, while Bali is also being prepped to receive the bulk of Indonesia’s international arrivals in 2022.
With stringent health and safety measures in place, and the added spotlight provided by this year’s G20 Presidency, it is hoped that Indonesia will outperform its own expectations and welcome back more international arrivals in 2022. At this early stage, the government remains cautiously optimistic.
