Tamil Nadu tourists flock to Indonesia, seek direct flights

CHENNAI: Newlyweds Prateek and Keerthana from Chennai are planning a trip to Lombok Island in Indonesia during the long Dussehra holiday weekend in Oct, picking it over popular destinations such as the Maldives or Mauritius.

This reflects a growing preference among young couples and travellers from tier -two and tier-three cities across the state to vacation in Southeast Asian nations, specifically Indonesia. However, they face a lack of direct flights from Chennai to these destinations.

Between Jan and July 2024, Indonesia saw 4.17 lakh tourists from India. The numbers are expected to touch 6.7 lakh by the year-end. And, 20 percent of these tourists are from Chennai.

"We have already achieved 62% of our target for the year. Our primary inflow is from cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad, with families and young travellers making up a significant portion," said Ni Made Ayu Marthini, deputy minister of marketing at Indonesia's ministry of tourism.

Marthini said the focus of this year's tourism sales mission is "Bali and beyond." Bali remains a key draw for tourists from South Asia, particularly from India and Nepal. The ministry encourages tourists to use Bali as a gateway to explore other destinations such as Yogyakarta, Lombok, Labuan Bajo, and Jakarta.

Indonesian tourism officials emphasised the short travel time to Indonesia. Peak tourist seasons occur in May, June, and Dec, while April, July, and August are considered off seasons. Marthini said efforts were on to collaborate with the Indian govt to introduce direct flights from Chennai.

Sriharan Balan, chairman of tourism at the Southern India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI), said ,more and more people from Tamil Nadu were visiting Bali.

From there, many are exploring more niche destinations such as Ubud, Lombok, and Nusa Penida, he added.