Indonesian Tourism Enters New Era as AI Becomes Both Ally and Challenge
As travellers search for destinations online, their choices are increasingly influenced by algorithms. From social media recommendations to search engine results, technology is gradually transforming how people discover, consider, and select travel destinations. Amidst these changes, the tourism industry is no longer solely focused on promotion or the beauty of destinations; the growing priority is building narratives, connection, and trust within the digital space.
To respond to changing global traveller behaviours, the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism has begun integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into its digital ecosystem through the launch of Meticulous Artificial Intelligence of Indonesia (MaiA). This AI is designed to improve the quality of national tourism services through adaptive, intelligent, and traveller-oriented technology. The platform is accessible via indonesia.travel and serves as the new face of Indonesia’s tourism digital transformation. MaiA is aligned with the Ministry’s primary ‘Tourism 5.0’ programme, which emphasises the importance of digital adoption to target markets more effectively.
Ni Made Ayu Marthini, Deputy of Marketing at the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism, stated that the use of artificial intelligence is an inevitability in the industry. “This is not merely following a trend. It is a foundation for building a more personalised, efficient, and data-driven tourism experience,” she recently noted in Jakarta.
MaiA is designed to assist travellers at every stage of their journey, from the dreaming and planning phases to booking, experiencing, and sharing their travel stories. As an ecosystem, MaiA can also be utilised by the industry, particularly the Ministry of Tourism, as an instrument for collecting tourist behaviour data.
“In the seven months since its launch in November 2025, we have discovered that approximately 60 per cent of users come from the domestic market and 40 per cent from abroad, with a dominance of tourists from China, Singapore, and Germany,” said Made. The data presented by MaiA provides a much more detailed overview compared to conventional survey methods. Through MaiA, the government can understand current tourist behaviours, including preferences for destinations, activities, and desired experiences.