Ministry of Tourism Cites Domestic Tourists as Driver of Economy During Eid Holiday
Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Ministry of Tourism has identified the movement of domestic tourists as one of the key factors capable of driving the wheels of the national economy during the Eid holiday period.
“This holiday period represents a major movement of domestic tourists. We believe that with this movement, there is typically an economic impact or circulation of the economy that occurs,” said Deputy for Marketing at the Ministry of Tourism, Ni Made Ayu Marthini, during an online discussion in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Marthini stated that major celebrations such as the Eid al-Fitr holiday period typically represent a time for the public to conduct large-scale and simultaneous mobilisation.
The volume of travel from homecoming travellers and tourists will influence economic sectors such as increased revenues for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and expenditures on shopping that are larger than on ordinary days.
As a form of effort to capitalise on this momentum, the Ministry of Tourism has promoted the “Proud to Tour Indonesia” (BBWI) campaign. There are also incentives in the form of ticket discounts for various transport modes that are expected to increase the number of trips.
“We hope that domestic tourists who typically travel abroad during this period can enjoy their holidays in Indonesia instead. As per the campaign from the Ministry of Tourism BBWI, part of Proud to Tour Indonesia,” she said.
Previously, Tourism Minister Widiyanti Putri Wardhana stated that the Eid holiday period can serve as a leverage point because of the preference for large-scale movements of domestic tourists.
Citing data from the Ministry of Transportation, during the 2026 Eid homecoming period, the movement of the population is forecast to reach 143.91 million movements, or a decrease of 6.92 per cent compared to 2025 with 154.62 million movements.
Data from the Ministry of Tourism also noted that during the 2025 Eid holiday period, foreign tourist arrivals totalled 1,164,539, or an increase of 9.15 per cent compared to the previous year, with an average spending per arrival (ASPA) of US$1,267 per visit per foreign tourist.
With these potential opportunities, Widiyanti stated that the Ministry of Tourism has prepared a strategy for welcoming the Eid holiday period in 2026, such as preparing the unified service information platform Halo Wonderful, to serve requests for information, complaints, feedback, and consultation from the public and tourism stakeholders.
The government through the Ministry of Tourism has also coordinated with other stakeholders to organise promotional activities including Business Matching and the “Proud to Tour Indonesia” (BBWI) exhibition and “Shop Indonesia Only” (BINA), which are expected to boost public purchasing power.
This includes preparing a compilation of holiday packages for the 2026 Eid and Eid al-Fitr period.
“We have also issued a circular to tourism industry associations and online travel agencies (OTAs) requesting ticket price reductions,” she said.
Other efforts that have been undertaken include organising various events that receive support from the Ministry of Tourism and provincial events held during the Eid period from 18 February to 29 March 2026. Event publicity is being intensified through the Ministry of Tourism’s media channels.
The Ministry of Tourism has also created a landing page on indonesia.travel regarding holiday packages for the 2026 Eid and Eid al-Fitr period, and is monitoring destinations to assess readiness for the 2026 Eid holiday period.