Luhut Pandjaitan Laments Bali's Low Average Tourist Spending in Asia

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Pandjaitan in a government national coordination meeting on tourism highlighted the fact that the average expenses of tourists in Bali is still below Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 

He compared it to data in 2018 which showed tourists’ spending per night in Indonesia remained smaller than other Asian countries. The data he referred to cited a study by Mastercard published three years prior, Antaranews reported. 

“It is shown in the table, which shows Indonesia below Malaysia,” said Minister Luhut in the online meeting on super priority tourist destinations on December 1. 

The study showed that tourists would spend around US$125 per night, which was lower than Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur of US$142, Osaka, Japan with an average of US$223 and Phuket, Thailand with US$247. Singapore ranked the highest in tourist spending per night with US$272. 

According to Luhut, the Covid-19 pandemic has triggered a paradigm shift from quantity-based tourism to quality tourism. This paradigm ultimately makes high-spending tourists take precedence over the high number of low-spending tourists.

“Thus, we should focus on quality,” said Luhut Pandjaitan. 

However, he also said the concentration of international tourists in Bali is also a problem that needs to be solved. 

Read: Bali to Limit Tourist Visits during Christmas, New Year Holidays

ANTARA