Strong Taiwan Travel Demand, KDEI Promotes Indonesian Destinations Beyond Bali

RRI.CO.ID, Taipei - The Indonesian Economic and Trade Office (KDEI) in Taipei sees significant room for growth in Indonesia’s tourism services trade in the Taiwan market. The potential was reflected in the strong interest shown by Taiwanese tourism industry players at the Wonderful Indonesia Sales Mission held at the KDEI Taipei office on Wednesday, September 2, 2026.

Organized in collaboration with Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism, the event brought together 21 Indonesian tourism industry players and 49 Taiwanese tourism businesses as buyers. They explored potential transactions across various services, ranging from travel packages and hotel accommodation to cruise tourism.

Head of KDEI Taipei, Arif Sulistiyo, said Indonesia needs to strengthen its promotional efforts while expanding cooperation among businesses to seize the opportunities available in the Taiwanese market. “There is still significant room for growth for Indonesian tourism services in the Taiwan market. The strategy to increase Indonesia’s tourism services trade in Taiwan needs to focus on strengthening promotion, expanding business-to-business (B-to-B) cooperation, and introducing more Indonesian destinations beyond Bali to Taiwanese tourists,” Arif said, as quoted in an official statement on September 4, 2026.

According to him, Taiwanese tourists need to be introduced to a wider range of Indonesian destinations, including Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Pasuruan, Surabaya, and Labuan Bajo. These destinations offer tourism products that match the interests of the Taiwanese market, ranging from marine tourism and wellness tourism to gastronomy as well as cultural and nature exploration.

The scale of the market opportunity was also reflected in the number of Taiwanese buyers, which exceeded the number of Indonesian tourism service providers. Some of the buyers already sell travel packages to Indonesia, while others are only beginning to explore the market.

“The difference between the number of Indonesian tourism service providers and Taiwanese buyers is a positive signal. It shows that demand from Taiwan is much greater than what has been served so far,” Arif said.

One of the buyers, Daniel from Happy Go Travel, said the event provided an opportunity to strengthen ties with partners in Indonesia. His company currently offers travel packages to several Indonesian destinations, including Yogyakarta and Surabaya.

“We hope to continue expanding our selection of travel destinations in Indonesia,” Daniel said. The sales mission also involved the Indonesia Inbound Tour Operators Association (IINTOA), the Taipei Association of Travel Agents (TATA), and STARLUX Airlines. The collaboration is expected to create more business opportunities while strengthening tourism connectivity between Taiwan and Indonesia.

In terms of air connectivity, STARLUX Airlines will launch a direct Taipei-Denpasar route starting October 1, 2026. Flights to I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport will operate five times a week, on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. The new route is expected to make it easier for Taiwanese tourists to explore Bali and continue their journeys to other destinations across Indonesia.

Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism Deputy for Marketing Ni Made Ayu Marthini described the sales mission as part of the country’s quality tourism strategy. The government is encouraging the development of high-value tourism products, such as marine tourism and wellness tourism, rather than focusing solely on increasing visitor numbers.

Taiwan remains one of Indonesia’s promising tourism markets. Data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS) recorded 108,989 visits by Taiwanese tourists to Indonesia between January and June 2026. The figure placed Taiwan as Indonesia’s 13th-largest source of international tourists in the first half of 2026.