2015 in Review: Indonesia's Top Five Tourists by Country of Origin
Jakarta. This year Indonesia's Tourism Ministry dedicated its efforts on bolstering the archipelago's tourism industry as a means to spur economic growth amid sluggish conditions.
Among its many campaigns was a marketing strategy aimed at specific countries, which officials hoped would increase the number of foreign tourist arrivals. Indonesia had also waved a free visa policy for tourist from 75 country to boost arrivals.
"We wouldn't need to spend too much time and energy [on promoting Indonesia] if we knew where to market out tourist spots," said Tourism Minister Arief Yahya.
"Tourism is one of the world's leading industries. But we must first identify Indonesia's position in the [global industry] in order to effectively manage our own tourism sector, " he added.
Here are the top five countries of origin of Indonesia's most frequent foreign visitors, according to 2015 data from the directorate general of immigration and Indonesia's Statistics
They also happen to be Indonesia's top investors and trade partners.
1. Singapore
The government recorded more than 1.2 million Singaporeans entering Indonesia through 19 major airports and ports in the January-October period, up 0.57 percent from the same period a year earlier.
Last year, Singaporeans on average spent $158.25 a day during their trip to Indonesia, up from $154.15 in 2013. Each visitor stayed an average of 4.16 days, according to a report released in August.
The large figure was not a huge surprise considering Singapore's high foreign direct investment in Indonesia. Investments from Singapore in the January-September period reached $3.55 billion or equal to 1,999 projects. The city state is Indonesia's biggest investor, followed by Malaysia, Japan and South Korea.
It is also one of Indonesia's largest trade partners, alongside Japan, the United States, China and India.
2. China
China became the Indonesian Tourism Ministry's main target in its marketing campaign as the Asian giant had seen a large growth in both holiday travelers and the money they spend while visiting Indonesia.
The two countries reached an agreement earlier this year to boost the number of tourists traveling to each other's countries to two million by the end of this year.
However, only 966,988 Chinese tourists entered Indonesia in the January-October period, suggesting a likely shortfall in the target. Still, the number is an 18.85 percent increase from last year.
Chinese tourists in Indonesia spent on average $168.74 a day in 2014, up from $161.66 in the previous year. Each visitor stayed an average of 6.28 days.
3. Malaysia
Malaysian tourists visiting Indonesia in this year's January-October period reached 957,414, lower than the more than one million Malaysian travelers recorded in the same months last year.
In 2014, each Malaysian tourist spent an average of $133.84 a day, down from $145.36 a year earlier. However, they stayed longer in Indonesia last year, spending an average of 5.30 days here compared to 4.82 days in 2013.
Malaysia is the second biggest investor in Indonesia behind Singapore, toppling Japan, South Korea and the Netherlands. The neighboring nation invested $2.9 billion in the archipelago during the January-September period of this year, up 196.5 percent from 2014, according to Indonesia's Investment Coordinating Board.
4. Australia
The government recorded 878,920 Australian tourists entering Indonesia through the country's 19 major airports and ports in the January-October period, down 3.26 percent from 908,582 tourists in 2014.
Each Australian tourist, on average, spent $175.87 a day during their stay in 2014. Most stayed for 9.08 days.
5. Japan
More than 409,530 Japanese travelers chose to holiday in Indonesia in the January-October period of this year, up 2.64 percent from 398,984 in 2014.
Each Japanese tourist spent $168.59 a day during their visit in 2014, staying for an average of 6.75 days.
In line with the higher number of tourists, the country's investment to Indonesia grew 22.2 percent year-on-year to $2.49 billion in 2015's January-September period.
Honorable mentions
The following countries each deserve an honorable mention as more of their travelers chose to visit Indonesia in the first 10 months of 2015 compared to the year before: Egypt, Britain, India, Germany and the United States.
The Tourism Ministry will have Rp 5.4 trillion to spend on encouraging both foreign and domestic tourists to travel across the archipelago next year, more than double the Rp 2.4 trillion budget it received in 2015.
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