UK arrivals to Indonesia surge

The first quarter of 2016 has seen the United Kingdom emerge as the leading growth source market to Indonesia, with an increase in arrivals of 28% year-on-year.

The recent surge in arrivals to the largest archipelago in the world follows the recent introduction of the visa free policy for British nationals as well as an uplift in flight capacity and the introduction of Garuda Indonesia’s non-stop direct flights to Jakarta from London Heathrow.

March saw arrival figures of 27,437, which represents a growth of 40.58% on last year’s figures for the same month and an upsurge of 44.41% against the target arrivals. Combined with the impressive increase witnessed in January and February, cumulative growth currently stands at 28% and is set to continue further to a series of marketing campaigns being carried out by Indonesia and its partners.

The Ministry of Tourism for the Republic of Indonesia is working closely with the Embassy, Garuda Indonesia and the tour operator partners to promote the destination through a series of tactical campaigns to run throughout 2016 – including outdoor media, digital marketing, print advertising, social media, direct marketing and collateral production.  In addition, the Ministry of Tourism has invested in branding campaigns for “Wonderful Indonesia” via several channels, including LED screens and London taxi wraps.

Richard Hume, country manager for Indonesia in the United Kingdom said: “We are very pleased with the latest visitor arrival statistics. I strongly believe there is excellent potential for continued growth from the UK market as Indonesia ticks all the boxes and has so much diversity to offer the UK traveller. The Ministry’s policy to remove the visa requirement for UK nationals has been extremely well-received as has the introduction of new flights to the destination. We will continue to work closely with our Indonesia family partners as well as the stakeholders to promote the destination.”