Indonesia welcomed nearly 4.1 million foreign tourists in the first four months of 2024, marking the highest number of arrivals since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported this significant increase.
In the January-April period of 2020, Indonesia recorded 2.8 million foreign tourists. However, the numbers plummeted to 465,038 in 2021, reflecting the severe impact of the pandemic. The figures began to recover, reaching 642,512 in 2022 and nearly 3.3 million in 2023.
In April 2024 alone, approximately 1.1 million foreign visitors arrived in Indonesia. Most of these tourists hailed from Malaysia, making up 16% of the total, followed by Australia (12%) and China (8.1%).
“Visits by Malaysian tourists saw a 6.47% month-to-month growth in April and a 15.88% increase year-on-year,” said BPS’s acting head, Amalia A. Widyasanti, during a press briefing. The report also highlighted a 3% month-to-month increase in Australian tourists, while Chinese tourist visits decreased by 8.9%.
Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali emerged as the primary entry point for foreign tourists, with 502,870 arrivals in April, mostly Australians. European tourists, on average, had the most extended stays, with nearly 18.7 nights in the first quarter of 2024, followed by African tourists at 17.8 nights.
“This puts the average length of stay for international tourists at around 11.73 nights for the first quarter of 2024, slightly lower compared to the 12.71 nights throughout 2023,” Amalia noted.
In terms of spending, the average foreign tourist spent about $1,429 per visit during this period. Accommodation accounted for 37.9% of this expenditure, while 20.6% was spent on food and beverages. These figures represent a decrease from 2023 when the average spending was around $1,625.
The Indonesian government aims to attract 17 million foreign tourists in 2024, with the current figures representing 23.5% of this target.
