Jakarta. Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno said on Wednesday that the number of foreign tourist arrivals in 2023 exceeded the set target, even though the government revised the benchmark multiple times.

Government statistics reveal that the country welcomed 11.7 million foreign tourists last year, nearly doubling from the 5.9 million international arrivals in the previous year.

Speaking at the Investor Daily Roundtable at Mulia Hotel in Jakarta, Sandiaga said his ministry anticipated a significant surge in foreign tourist arrivals after analyzing data from the first quarter of last year.

"Our initial target for foreign tourist arrivals was 7.4 million. After reviewing the first-quarter data, we adjusted the target to 8.5 million. Six months later, we were confident that the annual figure could surpass 10 million based on scientific data. As it turns out, we ended the year with 11.7 million foreign tourist visits," Sandiaga explained.

Acknowledging the increasing number of tourist visits in the post-Covid-19 era, the minister stressed the need for new investments in the industry to enhance infrastructure, accommodations, and human capital.

Sandiaga pointed out the challenges faced during the New Year holidays in southern Bali, where the peak of tourist arrivals caused a massive traffic jam, leading tourists to walk to the airport carrying their luggage.

To address this, the government is working to distribute the center of tourist attractions to the western part of Bali and also to the nearby town of Banyuwangi, Sandiaga said.

Indonesia’s creative economy sector also begins to yield fruits with the minister claiming that its contribution to the national gross domestic product is the third-largest in the world after the United States and South Korea.

“America has Hollywood, Korea has television drama, and Indonesia has horror movies. America has jazz, Korea has K-Pop, and we have dangdut koplo,” Sandiaga told show host Enggartiasto Lukita, the executive chairman of B-Universe Media Holdings.