Sandiaga Uno Sets Low Target on Foreign Tourist Arrivals despite Upcoming G20

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, led by Sandiaga Uno, targeted 1.8-3.6 million foreign tourist arrivals in 2022. The target was lower than the number of foreign tourists entering the country in 2020 which amounted to 4.05 million.

“The target is quite modest considering that the policy on border opening is still an obstacle,” said the ministry’s deputy for strategic policy Kurleni Ukar in his office, Monday, December 27.

Kurleni said Indonesia is still limiting the number of international visits from various countries following the outbreak of the COVID-19 Omicron variant. Therefore, the government does not set a grandiose target next year albeit the country will host a number of international events, such as G20 and MotoGP.

“We assess the potential target market. We expect tourists from India, Japan, and Australia will visit Bali as there is direct access. Meanwhile, tourists from Malaysia and Singapore are the main targets of Batam,” he added.

Despite the limited number of foreign visits, the ministry was determined to maximize the withdrawal of foreign exchange reserves from travelers of MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions).

The ministry’s deputy for tourism products and events Rizki Handayani added that MICE travelers had a share of 23 percent of the total number of foreign tourists entering Indonesia, while leisure travelers had a market share of 63-65 percent.

Since leisure travelers could not be relied on next year, various international business agendas or MICE were believed to help achieve the target of foreign tourist arrivals. “If there is no more surge in COVID-19 cases, we will reach that number (1.8-3.6 million foreign tourists),” said Rizki.

Read: International Travel Could Spark New Covid-19 Wave: Sandiaga Uno

FRANCISCA CHRISTY ROSANA