TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A travel planning platform Traveloka says that Indonesians are one of the most enthusiastic communities that look forward to traveling after the relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions. Traveloka Vice President Public Policy and Government Relations Widya Listyowulan said it can be seen in the Google travel demand report in March this year.

She said as countries started to implement relaxed restrictions, Indonesians immediately responded by making travel plans. "As the [travel] relaxations were introduced, Indonesians were really quick to book hotels and go traveling," she said in an online press conference on June 14.

Meanwhile, an internal survey by Traveloka found that most customers have already prepared travel plans for the next three months.

One thing that changed the behavior of tourists during the pandemic is the need for flexibility in choosing destinations and facilities. Not only do they have travel plans for the next few months, but according to Widya, consumers also seek spontaneous travel services.

In terms of tourist destinations, Widya said most tourists still prefer domestic tourism options, especially staycations and natural tourism over traveling overseas.

Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno said the number of foreign tourist visits to Indonesia in April 2022 through the main entrance was over 11,000 people. This figure is up five times compared to the same month in 2021. The tourists are dominated by visitors from Australia (14 percent), Singapore (11.4 percent), Malaysia (7.8 percent), India (6.1 percent), and the UK (5.5 percent).

As mentioned in a Google in Asia report on April 26, in Southeast Asia, inbound travel demand – visits by non-residents to a country – has experienced the fastest upturn in the Philippines and Indonesia, based on search volumes. In March, inbound travel demand for the Philippines had already surpassed pre-pandemic figures (hitting 104% of pre-pandemic search volumes), while Indonesia is close to a full rebound too (94%).

These two countries have also seen the fastest resurgence in outbound travel – visits by their residents to other countries – with search volumes bouncing back to 70% of pre-pandemic levels. Singapore is in third place for both inbound and outbound travel demand.

ANTARA | GOOGLE

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