Jakarta. Indonesia is putting its hopes in the Chinese New Year holidays to attract over 14 million foreign tourists this year.

Indonesia is aiming to post between 9.5 million and 14.3 million foreign tourists this year. The government has put the tourism foreign exchange target within a range between $7.38 billion and $13.08 billion. The Chinese New Year, which will fall on Feb. 10, has become one of Indonesia’s strategies to meet its foreign traveler targets.

“We hope that the Chinese New Year holidays will help us attract 14.3 million foreign tourists this year,” Tourism Minister Sandiaga Uno told a hybrid press briefing on Monday.

The government has prepared a map of Chinese New Year tourism destinations in Jakarta, Surakarta, Semarang, Palembang, and Singkawang. Sandiaga said he wanted to see the festivities to embrace local wisdom. 

“[The festivities] should portray the local Chinese people’s culture and promote heritage tourism,” the minister said. 

The National Statistics Agency (BPS) reported that Indonesia recorded about 10.4 million foreign tourist visits during January-November 2023. Most of the foreign travelers were Malaysians, representing about 15.7 percent of the international arrivals, followed by Australians (12.4 percent), Singaporeans (11.6 percent), and Chinese (6.8 percent).

Many Chinese people are also looking to spend the Chinese New Year holidays in the popular tourist haven of Bali, according to hospitality marketplace Airbnb.

Indonesia became the 7th most searched destination from January 1-September 30 last year, Airbnb China data showed. They were looking to check in on dates between Dec. 22, 2023, to Feb. 29, 2024. As expected, Bali topped the searches for the destination in Indonesia. Those who were planning to visit Southeast Asia also planned their trips sometime around the Chinese New Year holidays.

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