Tourism

The world’s fourth-most-populous nation, Indonesia boasts unique cultures, World Heritage Sites, pristine beaches, unparalleled diving and some of the world’s rarest wildlife. Its tropical climate and balmy temperatures of between 28°C and 34°C in coastal areas with little variation from one season to the next, make the archipelagic nation an ideal beach holiday destination. Indeed, Indonesia should be one of the world’s leading tourist destinations, yet it has consistently ranked behind neighbouring Thailand and Malaysia in tourist arrivals. Since taking office in 2014, the government of President Joko Widodo has been working hard to change that. It has recognized tourism as a major pillar of economic growth and set a target of 20m foreign visitors by 2020, when the industry is expected to be Indonesia’s biggest source of foreign exchange earnings.

This chapter contains an interview with Arief Yahya, Minister of Tourism.