Jakarta. Indonesia estimates that it will record 1.45 million foreign tourist arrivals during the year-end holidays, according to Tourism Minister Widiyanti Putri Wardhana.

The minister did not go into details on where these foreign tourists would primarily come from. However, Indonesia is a popular tourist spot for Malaysians, Australians, and Chinese nationals, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) data showed. The government is also expecting around 128 million trips during the year-end holiday season. Widiyanti also went on to say that the government had prepared discounts to spur spending by foreign visitors.

“We are also hosting this shopping tourism throughout December. There are discounts that range between 18 and 20%. This way, the foreign tourists can spend more money when visiting Indonesia,” Widiyanti said when visiting the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang on Tuesday.

The minister revealed that she had discussed with the airport authorities to simplify the tax refund procedures. Tourists visiting Indonesia can claim back the value-added tax on the goods bought during their trip. However, this only applies to purchases made in registered stores that have the “tax refund for tourists” logo. The refund counters are available in selected airports.

As many as 12.76 million international tourists had come to Indonesia between January and October, up by 10.32% year-on-year. The archipelagic country aims to attract 15.31 million foreign arrivals throughout the year.

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