by: Hafsa Akram, Research Assistant, Pakistan Research Center for a Community with Shared Future (PRCCSF), Islamabad.
Indonesia is famous for its diverse landscape, culture, natural beauty, and traditional arts as it is an ideal destination for travellers from all over the world. Due to such attractive diversity, Indonesia is a destination for tourists. The Government of Indonesia (GoI) has prioritized tourism as an important growth sector and plays a significant role in the development of the tourism sector. The tourism industry has been growing and developed in a way to respond to steadily growing demand at the international, national, and local levels. The increasing push of market-driven demand has allowed capital-intensive tourism to be developed in most visited destinations.
In addition, a wide variety of gastronomic offerings with unique and interesting experiences from each tourist destination in Indonesia complements the country’s tourism industry. The uniqueness and character of each corner of the country offer its own charm to travellers from all over the world. In short, Indonesia is rich in tourist destinations.
The Indonesian government has taken several initiatives to promote the country’s tourism sector and has set ambitious targets to increase tourist arrivals and revenue. The government has also launched marketing campaigns to promote Indonesia as a travel destination and established partnerships with international travel organizations to attract more visitors to the country.
The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of Indonesia has made the industry accessible to international investment in order to create tourism-related projects with a sustainable framework, five priority travel destinations, and eight special economic zones.
The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of Indonesia has set several targets of attracting 3.4 million to 7.4 million international tourist arrivals, about 1.2 billion to 1.4 billion domestic tourist trips, and also fully focusing on improving Indonesia’s rank in the Travel and Tourism Development Index (TTDI).
The tourism development vision is based on the Long Term National Development Vision for a sovereign, advanced, equal, and prosperous Indonesia and development directive of pro-poor, pro-growth, and pro-environment. Sustainable tourism can significantly contribute to achieving the national development vision for 2025 and is in line with the development objectives. Sustainable tourism development is empowering communities in destinations to become able to use the opportunities of business and employment which enable them to achieve socio-economic benefits from tourism.
Indonesia has embraced community-based tourism, which involves working closely with local communities to develop sustainable tourism initiatives. This approach is helping in the spread of economic benefits of tourism to rural and remote areas of the country.
Tourism has many benefits for everyone. Tourists can get a better understanding of Indonesia and appreciate its beauty. On the other hand, locals have the opportunity to improve their lives. Let’s hope that tourism in Indonesia will continue to grow and develops.
