Source: Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy

Author: I Gusti Ayu Dewi Hendriyani | Head of Bureau for Communication 

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Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno revealed a significant curve of improvement in the development of the tourism sector, one of which was shown by the increase in the number of foreign tourist arrivals. This positive growth was expected to further increase economic activity and create job opportunities in the country’s tourism as well as creative economic sectors. 

At "The Weekly Brief with Sandi Uno" at the Sapta Pesona Building in Jakarta, on Monday (22/8/2022), Mr. Sandiaga said that the number of foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia reached approximately 350 thousand in June 2022. This is a sharp increase of almost 2,000 percent (1,973.96 percent precisely, according to BPS or Indonesian Statistics Agency data) compared to same month of the previous year.  

Compared to May 2022, the growth is 62.69 percent. 

"Cumulatively, the number of foreign tourists visiting Indonesia in the January-June 2022 period reached almost 750,000 or an increase of almost 1,000 percent compared to the same period in 2021," he said.  

This increase coincided with a growth in the room or hotel occupancy rate in June 2022, of which Mr. Sandiaga said had reached more than 50 percent or an increase of 11.7 percent compared to June 2021. 

There was also an increase in new post-pandemic tourism trends, wherein tourists prioritized the concept of personalize, customize, localize, and smaller-in-size vacations, as well as the application of health protocols in every destination and creative economy center. The tourism industry has met CHSE (Clean, Health, Safety, and Environment) standards. 

"With this increase in the quality as well as the number of foreign tourist arrivals of 1.65 million in 2021, as well in regards to the [projected] 2022 target of from 1.8 to 3.6 million tourists in 2022, the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy has set a target of 3.5 to 7 million tourists for 2023," he said. 

Creative and digital goods exports also increased in 2021 after being relatively stable in the 2017-2020 period. 

The export value of creative goods, which had reached US$18.78 billion at the end of 2020, rose to $23.9 billion in 2021 – or 10 percent of the total national export value. The largest contributors to this increase were fashion (61.6%), handicrafts (31.3%), and culinary (6.8%) commodities. 

Mr. Sandiaga expected the trend of accelerating exports within the scope of tourism and creative economy in 2021 to continue in 2022. The Ministry estimated that exports of creative goods would reach $25.14 billion within that period. In order to continue to accelerate its export value, The Ministry would remain focused on those three aforementioned commodities. 

"However, there is always the possibility of fostering other commodities, such as the film, music, mobile applications, and video games sectors that are currently on the rise," Mr. Sandiaga added. 

He said the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy was also aiming at increasing the number of digital startups to 200 by the end of 2022, which would then be further increased to a total of 300 by 2023. 

Also present in the occasion were other representatives from the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, namely the Deputy for Industry and Investment, Henky Manurung; Director of Access to Finance, Hanifah Makarim; and the Head of the Communications Bureau, I Gusti Ayu Dewi Hendriyani.