Indonesia Has Potential to Become a Global Gastronomy Hub
Indonesia has the potential to become one of the world’s gastronomy centres, according to Tourism Minister Widiyanti Putri Wardhana, owing to its wealth of authentic culinary varieties and culture. With these assets, Indonesia can offer tourists authentic cultural and gastronomic experiences.
“They travel for authentic experiences, and gastronomy has become one of the strongest travel motivators in the world,” she said.
The Ministry of Tourism, together with the Indonesia Gastronomy Network, has launched Wonderful Indonesia Gourmet (WIG) to support the development of cultural and gastronomic tourism.
The programme includes support for improving the tourist experience whilst also assisting local communities.
The Tourism Minister said that the development of gastronomy tourism services needs to be matched by improvements in the quality of hotels, restaurants and cafés.
“The quality of hotels, restaurants, cafés, tourism services and hospitality professionals ultimately shapes how visitors experience Indonesia,” she said.
Food and Hospitality Indonesia exhibition
The exhibition, held from 21 to 24 July 2026 at Jakarta International Expo (JiExpo), is being attended by more than 500 companies from 32 countries. Thousands of products, technologies and solutions for the food, beverage and hospitality industries are on display.
The Tourism Minister said the fair is an important milestone for strengthening the links between the food, beverage, hospitality and tourism industries as a whole. According to her, developing these sectors is one of the keys to improving the quality of the tourist experience and strengthening the competitiveness of Indonesian destinations in the global market.
“Indonesian tourism today offers not only destinations but also experiences through gastronomy and the quality of hospitality services, which have become strategic assets in strengthening the image of Wonderful Indonesia. In support of this, the presence of FHI plays an important role as a platform connecting local producers with international buyers, encouraging investment and building partnerships to realise an Indonesian tourism ecosystem that is increasingly innovative, resilient and globally competitive,” said Widiyanti.
Data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS) show that the Indonesian economy grew 5.61 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026. By sector, accommodation and food and beverage services recorded the highest growth at 13.14 per cent, whilst government consumption rose 21.81 per cent. The outlook for Indonesia’s food, beverage and hospitality industry also continues to show a positive trend, contributing around 2.68 per cent to national Gross Domestic Product (GDP), or approximately Rp639 trillion in 2025.