Jakarta: The Indonesian Ministry of Tourism has highlighted the country’s rich culinary heritage as a key strategy to attract more foreign tourists. Hariyanto, Deputy for Tourism and Infrastructure Development at the ministry, emphasized on February 7 that culinary tourism is one of Indonesia’s priority programs, both in the short and long term.
According to Lao News Agency, the official highlighted that Indonesia offers several local cuisines that foreign tourists can enjoy, such as fried rice, gado-gado (vegetable salad with peanut sauce), and soto (traditional Indonesian soup). Indonesian culinary tourism, he explained, is limitless and engaging, presenting a greater potential to increase foreign tourist spending compared to destinations in other countries.
To promote Indonesian culinary tourism, Hariyanto stated that the Ministry of Tourism is currently focusing on enhancing culinary products to elevate tourism offerings. The ministry is also concentrating on wellness tourism, gastronomy, marine, and fa
shion sectors to complement the culinary experience.
According to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the average expenditure of foreign tourists during their visit to Indonesia was around 1,391 USD in 2024. Acting head of the BPS, Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti, noted that a significant portion of this expenditure, 57.49%, was devoted to accommodation as well as food and beverages.
In the fourth quarter of 2024, foreign tourists spent an average of 1,287 USD per visit and stayed in the country for approximately 10.39 nights.