Indonesia's adventure tourism destinations deemed superior

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Acting Deputy for Event Organiser Development at the Ministry of Tourism, Hafiz Agung Rifai, stated that Indonesia has a competitive advantage as an adventure tourism destination. “Indonesia is one of the few countries capable of offering a complete adventure experience through land, sea, and air activities,” he said at the launch of Explorex 2027 in Jakarta on Tuesday (14/7). He noted that Indonesia has more than 17,000 islands and diverse landscapes. Indonesia can offer a comprehensive adventure tourism experience with areas encompassing mountains, tropical forests, rivers, lakes, beaches, and seas rich in biodiversity. This potential allows Indonesia to optimise the development of tourism services, which are now moving towards experience-based tourism and special-interest tourism such as adventure, wellness, and sports tourism. Hafiz said that experience-based tourism services are among those experiencing rapid growth according to studies by international bodies such as UN Tourism and the African Travel and Tourism Association (ATTA). Therefore, the Ministry of Tourism is striving to encourage the development of experience-based tourism services, including by supporting the organisation of outdoor activities. During 2026, the Ministry of Tourism supported more than 30 outdoor activities including trail running, horse racing, motorsports, cycling races, open water swimming, and fishing competitions. The organisation of exhibitions like Explorex aligns with the government’s efforts to promote the enhancement of experience-based tourism services, including adventure tourism. President Director of PT Debindomulti Adhiswati, Vibiadhi Swasti Pradana, said that Explorex provides a platform for service providers related to land, water, and air exploration. The exhibition also presents a collaborative space between the government, business players, and communities to encourage the promotion, innovation, and sustainable growth of adventure tourism businesses. Founder of Skygears Indonesia, Harry Sulistyo, said that the development of adventure tourism businesses must go hand in hand with efforts to improve the safety and security of tourism activities, which includes education and human resource training. “Let us develop the education and training system. Indonesia has many competent human resources. That is our dream to build an increasingly advanced Indonesian outdoor industry,” said Harry.