Jakarta. Indonesia has attracted almost 4.1 million foreign tourists so far in 2024 as of April, according to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).

This marks the highest cumulative foreign tourist arrivals Indonesia has recorded in the January-April period over the past four years since the Covid-hit 2020. 

The Southeast Asian country had 2.8 million foreign tourists in the first four months of 2020. International visits fell to 465,038 in the same period the following year. They eventually grew to 642,512 in 2022, and almost 3.3 million foreign travelers in 2023.

In April alone, around 1.1 million foreigners visited Indonesia. Most of the foreign tourists came from the close neighbor Malaysia with Malaysians accounting for 16 percent of the international travelers visiting Indonesia that month. Followed by Australia (12 percent) and China (8.1 percent).

“Visits by Malaysian tourists saw a 6.47 percent month-to-month [m-to-m] growth [in April]. The number of Malaysian travelers also rose 15.88 percent year-on-year [yoy or versus April 2023 figures],” BPS’s acting head Amalia A Widyasanti told a press briefing on Monday.

BPS reported that Australian travelers visiting Indonesia rose around 3 percent m-to-m in April, while Chinese tourist visits dropped 8.9 percent m-to-m. 

According to Amalia, most of the foreign tourists entered the country via Ngurah Rai International Airport, which lies in the tourist haven of Bali. As many as 502,870 foreign tourists --most of whom were Australians-- had come to Indonesia in April via the Ngurah Rai International Airport.

Indonesia named Europeans as the international travelers who usually had the longest length of stay. On average, a European traveler stayed in the country for almost 18.7 nights in the first quarter of 2024. Africans spent approximately 17.8 nights in Indonesia.

“This puts the average length of stay for international tourists at around 11.73 nights for the first quarter of 2024. This is relatively lower compared to the average length of stay which reached 12.71 nights throughout 2023,” Amalia told the press.

The average foreign tourist also spent about $1,429 per visit over the said period. Almost 37.9 percent of the spending went to accommodation, while 20.6 percent was spent on food and beverages. Data shows that foreigners are spending less when vacationing in Indonesia compared to the 2023 figures. In 2023, the average international traveler spent around $1,625 in Indonesia.

The Indonesian government wants to welcome 17 million foreign tourists throughout 2024. This means that Indonesia has already reached 23.5 percent of its foreign arrival target.