Bali and Yogyakarta Emerge as Most-Sought Holiday Destinations for Eid 2026

Bali, Yogyakarta, and Bandung have been identified as the most-sought holiday destinations during the 2026 Eid holiday period, according to research from online travel agents (OTAs).

“One of the research findings from online travel agents regarding the most-searched destinations for this year’s Eid shows Denpasar or Bali at the top, followed by Yogyakarta and Bandung,” said Ni Made Ayu Marthini, Deputy for Marketing at the Ministry of Tourism.

However, the actual volume of tourist movement to these three popular destinations has not yet been determined. “We will need to calculate the economic impact first,” she stated during an online press conference held jointly by the Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Transportation on Tuesday (17/3/2026).

“As for popular destinations, Java is indeed the primary source of domestic tourism movement,” said Made. East Java, West Java, Central Java, and Yogyakarta are consistently cited as favourite destinations during every holiday season, including the 2026 Eid period.

Beyond Javanese tourism destinations, Made also identified West Sumatra as a popular destination during the Eid holiday. The ministry hopes that, in addition to aircraft ticket discounts, the government can also provide hotel discounts at tourism destinations to support local tourism promotion efforts.

Such discounts could include offers such as paying for two nights while staying three nights, along with complimentary shuttle services and access to certain tourist attractions. Drawing lessons from the Jakarta Provincial Government’s “Return to Jakarta” programme, which has been promoted well in advance, officials hope that governments in other regions will similarly launch coordinated promotional initiatives.

This is particularly important given that the 2026 Eid holiday period coincides closely with Nyepi 2026 and the tomb-sweeping ceremony observed by people of Chinese descent. Tomb-sweeping ceremonies are typically conducted in major cities such as Medan, Pontianak, and Bangka Belitung, with many ethnic Chinese Indonesians using the Eid holiday period to return to their hometowns.

“However, the key question remains whether these regions are adequately prepared to accommodate the needs of these visitors, given that they come not only from throughout Indonesia but also from overseas,” officials noted.