“Indonesia has the potential to lead in eco-tourism, in cultural heritage and in Muslim-friendly tourism, but only if we pair them with clarity, consistency and digital response. It tries to promote everything all at once, which dilutes the message.” A vast, beautiful and complex country, Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago nation and home to Asia’s fifth-largest economy and the planet’s 4th-largest population. But tourism is disproportionately concentrated in Bali, which recorded 45% of inbound arrivals to Indonesia in 2024. In South East Asia, Indonesia lags behind Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam for tourism, attracting 13.1 million visitors in 2024, while generating 1.02 billion domestic trips. So why does it continually underperform for inbound tourism? This week, Gary is joined by Bali-based travel professional Nur Wulan T, who has worked for leading travel players like Garuda, Traveloka, Tiket.com, Oyo and STAAH, and is a speaker on tourism and hospitality issues. We discuss Indonesia’s infrastructure deficit, high domestic flight prices and Bali’s long-touted second airport. Plus we asses the mixed progress of Indonesia’s 5 Super Priority Destinations, Lake Toba, Borobudur, Labuan Bajo, Mandalika and Likupang. and the potential of Sumba and Papua. And, we look at what can be learned from Malaysia, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Japan, which are pushing creative boundaries in Muslim tourism.
