RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - House of Representatives (DPR) Commission VII Speaker Saleh Partaonan Daulay has urged the Ministry of Tourism to improve transparency in its reporting of regional activity agendas. He stressed that Commission VII is prepared to conduct on-site visits to supervise the implementation of tourism programs.
Saleh noted that the ministry has signed numerous inter-ministerial memorandums of understanding (MoUs), but some of these agreements have not been formally reported to the House.
He emphasized that all cooperation between ministries must be oriented toward public interests, as the tourism sector is closely tied to economic growth and public welfare.
He criticized what he described as a ceremonial approach dominating the ministry’s work pattern, saying that transformation should focus on tangible results with direct benefits for the people. “That’s good, but there must be real outcomes because the ministry’s budget of IDR 1.8 trillion (USD 106.96 million) doesn’t belong to the ministry but to all Indonesians. So it’s not for ceremonial purposes,” Saleh said during a meeting with Tourism Minister Widiyanti Putri Wardhana at the parliament complex in Jakarta on Wednesday, January 21, 2026.
Saleh called on the ministry to provide detailed reports on its regional activity agenda to the House, arguing that transparency is crucial for effective supervision and monitoring.
He reiterated that Commission VII is willing to visit the regions directly to ensure that tourism programs are implemented as intended and that the public can truly benefit from them.
He also invited the ministry to hold an annual evaluation meeting and requested a detailed presentation of the tourism sector’s 2026 work plan.
Strengthening the tourism sector, he said, is a shared responsibility between the government and the House, with Commission VII playing a supervisory role.
Saleh explained that the Ministry of Tourism is Commission VII’s second-largest partner after the Ministry of Industry, a position that requires measurable and wide-reaching performance.
He also pointed to government budget cuts for local administrations in 2026, saying tourism programs should help mitigate the impact by stimulating local economies. “That’s why we must consistently monitor this so that we can achieve accomplishments together, as part of our concrete service,” he said.
Earlier, Minister Widiyanti reported that national tourism performance in 2025 recorded significant growth in visits, foreign exchange, investment, and employment. She said these achievements reflect Indonesia’s growing competitiveness in the global tourism market.
The ministry recorded 13.98 million foreign tourist arrivals up to November 2025, an annual increase of 10.44 percent. Projections suggest the full-year figure could exceed 15.3 million, surpassing the Government Work Plan (RKP) target.
Tourism foreign-exchange earnings in the first to third quarters of 2025 reached USD 13.82 billion, driven largely by a rise in foreign tourist arrivals. Earnings grew 9.42 percent compared to the same period last year, supported by higher average tourist spending. Widiyanti said this surplus has the potential to sustainably strengthen the sector’s foreign exchange balance.
Domestic tourism also showed strong growth, with 1.09 billion trips recorded from January to November 2025, up 18.95 percent year-on-year. The government considers domestic tourism a cornerstone of the sector’s recovery.
The tourism sector employed 25.91 million workers throughout 2025, including 910,000 new jobs. “We believe that human resources are central to tourism development,” Widiyanti said.
Tourism investment flows for the first three quarters of 2025 reached IDR 53.92 trillion, an annual growth rate of 52.66 percent. The government views this increase as a sign of investor confidence in Indonesia’s tourism sector. (Gusti Panji/Lasti Martina)
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