Two Demographics to Boost Indonesia’s Domestic Tourism
B2B
26.02.2025
ASIA
In December 2024, the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism announced its target of 1.08 billion domestic trips for 2025. This figure is slightly lower than the target set for the previous year, which was 1.4 billion trips. With deeper insights gained from our participation in the Hospitality Indonesia Conference 2025, we are pleased to present the findings from our most recent study of Indonesia’s internal tourism market, aimed at helping players in the Indonesian hospitality industry secure a competitive edge and increase their revenue.
The post-COVID period saw a rapid growth in the number of international tourists seeking a holiday retreat on the Indonesian Archipelago leading to what has become a concerning reality for many popular destinations and is now being referred to as overtourism. Since Bali has been seeing unprecedented numbers of travellers over the past years and because these numbers continue to grow, in February 2024, local authorities were forced to suspend the construction of new hotels in some areas of Bali and introduce a tourist tax for international travellers choosing Bali as their destination.
We believe further development of domestic tourism may be the crucial factor in mitigating the negative effects international visitors have on the local infrastructure, environment and culture while at the same time allowing the hospitality business to enjoy high revenues.
We believe further development of domestic tourism may be the crucial factor in mitigating the negative effects international visitors have on the local infrastructure, environment and culture while at the same time allowing the hospitality business to enjoy high revenues.
In this study conducted in January 2025, Omniki.survey explored:
- What Indonesian destinations investors can explore and capitalise on
- What areas hosts can address to increase their revenues
- What marketing offers hosts can maximise on
- What communication channels hotels can use
- Who to best engage with to boost internal tourism
What destinations investors can explore and capitalise on
According to Omniki.Survey’s recent study Bali (36,9%) tops the list of preferred destinations among Indonesians. The study also helped draw a map of lesser-visited places which included: Lombok (8%), Sulawesi (6,8%), Sumatra (5,9%) and Papua (1,5%). Since nature tourism is in demand around the world and Indonesia is no exception (21,7% of the respondents favoured nature tourism), hotels and agencies can tailor packages around each region’s appeal and make them more geared to eco-adventures.
We also observed there was a correlation between the popularity of a given destination and its closeness to the island of Java, which is home to Indonesia’s capital Jakarta, or to the island of Bali, which is considered by many one of the must-visit places in Southeast Asia and Oceania.
The conclusion can be drawn here that many underrated destinations (Papua being one of them, with only 1,5% of respondents confirming that they have visited the island) can redirect visitors from overexploited destinations and eventually prove to be financially sound ideas, provided they are aligned with the nature tourism trend.
We also observed there was a correlation between the popularity of a given destination and its closeness to the island of Java, which is home to Indonesia’s capital Jakarta, or to the island of Bali, which is considered by many one of the must-visit places in Southeast Asia and Oceania.
The conclusion can be drawn here that many underrated destinations (Papua being one of them, with only 1,5% of respondents confirming that they have visited the island) can redirect visitors from overexploited destinations and eventually prove to be financially sound ideas, provided they are aligned with the nature tourism trend.
What areas hosts can address to increase their revenues
As revealed by the study, in the eyes of visitors, there are some aspects that hotels can improve to enhance the overall visitor experience. Areas such as friendly and attentive customer service (17,5%), dining options (9,6%) and safety and security (4%) have been found not to live up to stakeholders’ expectations. Therefore, should hotels consider adding more value through those areas, this would likely have a positive impact on the attendance numbers and allow the hosts to enjoy higher revenue figures.
Who to best engage with to boost internal tourism
Our main finding allowed us to paint portraits of the two stakeholder groups that marketing teams can target as part of their promotional campaigns to lure visitors from all of Indonesia to visit their destination. Stakeholder group number one is a 25- through to 54-year-old solo male traveller largely from the most densely populated islands such as Kalimantan and Sumatra. Stakeholder group number two is a traveller within the same age range wishing to go on holiday with their family. Such aspects as employment also carry importance — 41.9% of visitors confirmed their employment status. Out of those employed the majority (68,6%) represented the commercial sector. At the same time, education was found to have no influence on people’s travel habits.
About Omniki.Survey
Identifying people’s concerns is part of a decision-making process for the governmental authorities on all levels — national, regional, and local. Omniki.Survey uses a river-sampling method for data collection from unbiased respondents, screening out quick fills and illogical answers to ensure that the data gathered is reliable and robust.
Using the best practices of sociological science Omniki.Survey delivers the basic facts and helps both governmental authorities and companies gain the necessary insight for positive change to happen.
Leave your contacts and receive a report with the following data:
Using the best practices of sociological science Omniki.Survey delivers the basic facts and helps both governmental authorities and companies gain the necessary insight for positive change to happen.
Leave your contacts and receive a report with the following data:
- Indonesian target audience profile in detail
- Most popular regions
- Tourists’ preferences
- Choice & decision drivers
- Insights for marketing
- Expectations vs. reality for Indonesian hotels
END OF PUBLIC RELEASE
How can we help?
Get a PDF report
This is a study on internal Indonesia tourism. Omniki.survey conducted this study in January 2025 and presented its results during the 8th Hospitality in Indonesia Conference. Surveying 1,200 Indonesians, it analyses travel trends, preferences, and opportunities for the hospitality sector. Omniki.survey employs the river-sampling technique, ensuring the most impartial responses.
Our Partners & Events
