Government Targets 17.6 Million Wisman by 2026, Tourism Contribution to GDP Increases

JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto targets the number of foreign tourist visits (wisman) in 2026 to reach 16 million to 17.6 million visits.

He added that from these achievements, tourism foreign exchange is projected to be in the range of Rp. 22 billion - Rp. 24.7 billion, with a contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increasing to 4.5 - 4.7 percent.

"Entering 2026, in accordance with what the Minister of Tourism said earlier, the target of the end of 2025 which is projected to reach 15 million foreign tourist visits has been achieved, and in 2026 the target is 16-17.6 million visits. The foreign exchange revenue is estimated to be between Rp. 22 to Rp. 24.7 billion and its contribution to GDP could rise to 4.5 to 4.7 percent," he explained in his statement, quoted Tuesday, January 13.

He added that the recovery of the tourism sector was considered very strong, namely until the third quarter of 2025, the contribution of this sector to GDP was recorded at 3.96 percent and in the same period, tourism foreign exchange reached 13.82 billion US dollars, supported by the absorption of labor which reached 25.91 million people.

Based on data as of November 2025, the total number of foreign tourist visits reached 13.98 million and in the third quarter of 2025, the average expenditure of foreign tourists per visit was recorded at US$1,259.

The most foreign tourists came from Malaysia (17.3 percent), Australia (11.3 percent), Singapore (10.5 percent), and China (8.8 percent).

Airlangga said in the meeting, the government agreed on a number of key pillars to strengthen the tourism sector in the future.

He added that one of them was the acceleration of infrastructure and connectivity development, including strengthening the relationship between old and new airports, as well as the implementation of an integrated program between the central and regional governments, especially in priority destinations.

According to him, the government will also evaluate visa policies to facilitate access to foreign tourists.

In addition, Airlangga said that governance transformation and digitization were also a focus, including through improving the ecosystem for organizing events in the region with an integrated licensing system, as well as strengthening tourism safety standards through the provision of tourism insurance.

In terms of human resources and financing, he said the Government would increase the competitiveness of the tourism workforce through an upskilling program with a target of 400 thousand people per year.

Airlangga said fiscal sustainability would also be maintained through the establishment of the Indonesia Quality Tourism Fund (IQTF) and the provision of tax incentives in the form of Government-Covered Income Tax (DTP) for tourism workers in 2025-2026.

Ahead of the Lebaran period, Airlangga added that the government would also prepare various supporting programs, including discounts on transportation tickets and shopping discounts as have been implemented in previous years.

According to him, the visa facility is also one of the topics of discussion that will later be reported to President Prabowo Subianto.

"So, overall, the tourism target in 2026, by looking at the achievements in 2025, from all the K/L who were present, we are optimistic that the target will be achieved," concluded Airlangga.