Number of outbound departures Indonesia 2013-2022

According to data from the UNWTO, Indonesia's outbound departures only amounted to 3.54 million in 2022, an increased compared to the previous year. The number of outbound departures in 2021 was the lowest in the past ten years. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of Indonesians going overseas had been continuously increasing, though not at the same rate as domestic travels. 

State of outbound tourism in Indonesia

By 2021, the ratio of outbound trips to households in Indonesia was predicted to reach 15.4 percent, nowhere near that of neighboring Malaysia and Singapore. The relatively high costs of outbound travel would make such trips inaccessible to many Indonesians. In 2019, Indonesians spent around 11.3 billion U.S. dollars during their outbound travels. For many of those who traveled abroad from Indonesia, which has the world’s largest Muslim population, Saudi Arabia was their preferred long-haul destination. This was most likely to fulfil either the hajj or umrah pilgrimage. With the opening up of Saudi Arabia to tourism in 2019, many more Indonesians could be expected to travel there for leisure purposes as well.

COVID-19 and its impact on outbound travel

The growth in outbound travel in Indonesia was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in global travel restrictions. With Indonesia among the most affected countries in Southeast Asia, many countries had imposed travel restrictions for travelers from there. The reverse was also true, with inbound international tourists decreasing drastically. To make up for the lack of international tourists, the Indonesian government had promoted domestic tourism. The number of domestic trips for holidays and leisure purposes in Indonesia had been on a downward trend, however. Whether this measure would be enough to save Indonesia's tourism-heavy economies such as Bali, remains to be seen.