Indonesia tourism booms with its visa-free policy for 169 countries

Tourism in Indonesia for the year has experienced an immense boom, resulting in significant increase in the total contribution to national GDP. The idea of going visa-free for 169 countries really worked in favour of the country, and as per the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), it has also resulted in more job creation, investor and visitor exports.

The decision of going visa-free for 169 countries was taken and applied in the year 2016 by the government of Indonesia. And after a year, the results are no less than awesome. Thailand announced visa-free entry for 169 countries, including India, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, Thailand, United States, United Kingdom and Zimbabwe among others.

According to the WTTC, aggregate contribution by tourism sector to the country’s GDP is predicted to rise by 4.3% while employment level is expected to go up by 1.7% in 2017 compared to the last year. In 2016, the travel & tourism sector in Indonesia contributed US $57.6 billion to the economy. As per these numbers, there will be 9.1 million jobs by 2027 in the country.
WTTC Senior Vice President, Helen Marano said “Indonesia is one of the world’s most dynamic Travel & Tourism economies, topping the leagues of both size and growth. The government’s prioritisation of the sector, reflected in the removal of visas for citizens from 169 countries and the level of investment in the country’s tourism sector, is impressive. With such positive prospects for Indonesia’s Travel & Tourism, it’s more important now than ever, that growth is managed in a sustainable and inclusive way.”


Not only this, the foreign spending on tourism is likely to boost by 3.1% this year as compared to 2016 when the US $13 billion was generated. The investment on Travel & Tourism industry is also predicted to rise by 2.9% in 2017.

Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia, is one of the largest city tourism economies in Asia and it contributes US $6.9 billion annually to the city. Visa-free entry in Indonesia has only helped to boost tourism all the more. In addition to this, Jakarta is amongst the top ten fastest growing cities in the world.