Foreign Tourist Spending Soars During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Here's Why

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported that the number of foreign tourist arrivals (wisman) in Indonesia reached 1.56 million visits throughout 2021. This figure plummeted by 61.57% from the previous year, which reached 4.05 million visits.

The Covid-19 pandemic caused a sharp decline in foreign tourist arrivals over the past two years. This was due to restrictions on community activities following the outbreak of the coronavirus, which reduced global mobility.

Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the average spending by foreign tourists in Indonesia actually increased. This is because foreign tourists needed more time to stay, both for self-isolation upon entering Indonesia and for other activities.

The average expenditure per foreign tourist visit reached US$3,097.42, or the equivalent of Rp48 million per visit. This figure surged by 42.07% from the previous year, which was only US$2,165.02 per visit.

The average length of stay for foreign tourists in Indonesia reached 59.88 nights in 2021. This figure jumped more than fourfold from the previous year.

Although per-visit spending by foreign tourists increased last year, the average spending per night actually decreased. Average foreign tourist spending plummeted by 67.46% to only US$51.73 per night compared to US$158.95 per night the previous year.

For information, the main purpose of foreign tourist visits to Indonesia was for leisure, reaching 44.27% of total visits. This was followed by MICE (meeting, incentive, convention, exhibition) activities at 20.38%, visiting friends and relatives at 18.21%, business and others at 11.36%, and other personal reasons at 5.77%.