Indonesia targets Australian travellers with quality tourism strategy - Get updated on what's happening in tourism!

Indonesia is stepping up efforts to attract higher-value Australian travellers with a tourism strategy built around wellness, culture, gastronomy, marine experiences and nature. Rather than focusing primarily on visitor numbers, the Ministry of Tourism wants to encourage longer stays and greater spending while increasing the economic benefits generated for destinations and local communities.

Australia is an obvious market for this approach because Indonesia is already familiar to many Australian holidaymakers. The new positioning seeks to broaden that relationship by encouraging repeat and prospective visitors to look beyond established holiday patterns. Bali remains central, but Lombok, Labuan Bajo and Borobudur are being promoted alongside it as destinations offering distinct combinations of culture, wellness, heritage and outdoor experiences.

The strategy is being communicated through the “Go Beyond Ordinary” campaign, which is currently being promoted in Sydney. It forms part of Indonesia’s broader Quality Tourism approach, under which niche and higher-value segments such as marine tourism, gastronomy, wellness, luxury travel and the arts are receiving greater attention.

Beyond the familiar Bali holiday

Bali illustrates how Indonesia intends to add greater depth to an already established product. Alongside beaches and resort areas, the campaign highlights rice terraces, traditional villages, local rituals, gastronomy and wellness as reasons to explore the island differently.

Lombok combines nature-based travel with the culture of the indigenous Sasak people. The nearby Gili Islands provide a strong marine component, while Mount Rinjani adds opportunities for active and adventure tourism.

Further east, Labuan Bajo provides access to the marine environment of Komodo National Park. Diving and snorkelling around its coral reefs and diverse marine ecosystems are positioned as central experiences rather than simply additions to a conventional beach holiday.

Borobudur adds a cultural and spiritual dimension. The ninth-century Buddhist monument, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is known for its extensive relief panels and hundreds of stupas and gives the campaign a heritage product markedly different from Indonesia’s island and marine destinations.

More value from each journey

The Ministry of Tourism sees these different experiences as complementary elements of a broader Indonesian tourism proposition rather than isolated stops. The objective is to create journeys that encourage visitors to engage more closely with destinations and potentially spend more time in the country.

“Quality Tourism is about creating a stronger connection between travellers, destinations and the communities that shape them,” said Tourism Minister Widiyanti Putri Wardhana. “It means encouraging journeys that go beyond seeing a place, towards understanding its character, experiencing it more deeply and creating lasting value for the destinations visited.”

The approach also reflects an attempt to distribute tourism value more widely. By developing niche experiences around food, wellness, culture, nature and marine tourism, Indonesia aims to connect visitor spending more closely with local businesses and communities while appealing to more affluent market segments.

Technology is becoming part of that strategy as well. Under its Tourism 5.0 programme, the ministry has introduced MaiA, or Meticulous Artificial Intelligence of Indonesia, an AI-powered travel assistant intended to help visitors plan more personalised journeys.

For the Australian market, the underlying message is therefore less about discovering an unknown country than rediscovering a familiar destination. Indonesia is using its established popularity as the starting point for a broader product strategy designed to move travellers beyond conventional holiday patterns and towards longer, more diverse and higher-value stays.

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