Weak Rupiah and Global Conflicts Deter Indonesian Citizens from Travelling Abroad

The number of outbound trips by national tourists, or Indonesian citizens travelling abroad, has experienced a decline this year compared to previous years.

The causes include conflicts occurring in various regions of the world and the weakening of the Rupiah exchange rate against the US Dollar, which have led Indonesians to abandon their plans for overseas travel.

“We also noted the Rupiah exchange rate as a cause, alongside weather factors involving extreme conditions in several countries and ongoing global geopolitics,” said Ateng Hartono, Deputy for Distribution and Service Statistics at the Indonesian Central Statistics Agency (BPS), in Jakarta on Thursday (1/10/2026).

According to the latest BPS records, the number of outbound trips during the January-August 2026 period was only 5.90 million, a 3.56% decrease compared to the 6.12 million trips recorded during the same period last year.

In reality, from 2021 to 2025, the trend of outbound travel had been steadily increasing. In 2021, there were 1 million trips; in 2022, this rose to 1.47 million; in 2023, it surged by 235% to 4.95 million; in 2024, it reached 5.99 million, before finally hitting 6.12 million trips in 2025.

BPS noted that the decline in outbound trips was not only triggered by the pressure on the Rupiah against the US Dollar or ongoing geopolitical conflicts, but also by the decrease in international flight frequencies and high airfares.

“We recorded the influence of declining outbound tourism due to the decrease in international flight frequencies, such as from Kualanamu, and relatively more expensive airfares,” explained Ateng.