Expensive Flights and Weak Rupiah Reduce Indonesians Travelling Abroad

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Statistics Indonesia (BPS) has recorded a significant decline in the number of Indonesian citizens travelling abroad in May 2026. Data shows the number of outbound trips by national tourists reached 550,382, a decrease of 14.49 per cent month-on-month and 6.05 per cent year-on-year.

Deputy for Distribution and Services Statistics Ateng Hartono stated that the decline was primarily caused by two factors: expensive flight tickets and pressure on the rupiah exchange rate. “In general, the decline in national tourists was mainly due to the increase in flight ticket prices caused by rising avtur prices and was also influenced by the weakening of the rupiah exchange rate against the currencies of the main destination countries,” Ateng said during a press conference at the BPS headquarters in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Cumulatively, the number of outbound trips by Indonesian citizens from January to May 2026 was recorded at 3,694,668 trips, a decrease of 3.88 per cent. In contrast, Indonesia saw a surge in foreign tourist arrivals in May 2026. BPS recorded 1,382,087 foreign tourist visits, an increase of 10.69 per cent compared to the previous month and 5.83 per cent from May 2025. Total foreign tourist arrivals from January to May reached 6,067,014 visits, rising 7.69 per cent compared to the same period the previous year.

Based on passport data, foreign tourists visiting Indonesia were dominated by Malaysians with 298,200 visits and Australians with 155,030 visits in May 2026. The highest monthly increases came from Malaysian tourists, up 43.4 per cent, and Singaporean tourists, up 22.69 per cent. Bali remained the top destination for foreign tourists with 578,203 visits through Ngurah Rai, followed by Jakarta with 235,207 visits through Soekarno-Hatta Airport.

Domestic tourism also surged in May 2026. BPS data showed the number of domestic tourist trips reached 106,162,271 trips during the month, an increase of 8.83 per cent compared to April 2026 and 8.69 per cent from May 2025. Cumulatively, domestic tourist trips from January to May 2026 increased slightly by 2.86 per cent compared to the same period the previous year, reaching 523,221,951 trips.