Vice Tourism Minister: MICE Key to Driving New Value in Indonesia’s Tourism Sector

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta – Vice Tourism Minister, Ni Luh Puspa, has encouraged the development of the Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Exhibitions (MICE) sector as a key driver for creating greater economic value from tourism activities while strengthening the competitiveness of Indonesian destinations toward 2027.

Ni Luh said Indonesia’s tourism sector has continued to show positive growth. Throughout 2025, Indonesia recorded 15.39 million international tourist arrivals and 1.20 billion domestic tourist trips, while tourism foreign exchange earnings reached around 18.27 billion US dollars.

The positive trend continued in the first half of 2026. Based on Statistics Indonesia (BPS) data, international tourist arrivals reached 7.45 million, up 5.71 percent compared with the same period the previous year. However, Ni Luh said tourism growth should not be measured solely by the number of visitors. The challenge going forward is to translate such growth into longer stays, higher tourist spending, quality experiences, and broader economic benefits for local communities.

“One segment with significant potential for further development is MICE,” she said in her remarks at the Indonesia Tourism & MICE Outlook (ITMO) 2027, organized by the Tourism and Creative Economy Journalists Forum (Forwaparekraf) in Jakarta on Thursday, September 24, 2026.

According to the ICCA GlobeWatch Business Analytics – Country & City Rankings 2025, Indonesia recorded 110 international association meetings. The achievement placed Indonesia 37th globally, 10th in the Asia-Pacific region, and fourth in ASEAN.

Ni Luh said MICE activities provide opportunities for participants to extend their stays while increasing economic activity in destinations. After attending the main event, participants can enjoy urban tourism, culinary experiences, wellness activities, shop for local products, and visit various tourist attractions around the event location.

According to her, tourists traveling for business or attending events are no longer focused solely on conferences, meetings, or concerts, but also seek experiences in the destinations they visit.

“This is what we need to strengthen through greater integration so that all these elements are connected as part of a solid ecosystem,” she said.

Therefore, the development of MICE in Indonesia needs to move beyond simply organizing events toward creating valuable experiences. Such experiences are expected to strengthen the character of destinations, drive local economies, and enhance Indonesia’s competitiveness in the global MICE market.

In addition to MICE development, Ni Luh highlighted the importance of technology adaptation in entering the Tourism 5.0 era. The use of technology is considered increasingly important in supporting services and travel experiences that meet tourists’ needs.

One implementation is MaiA, an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered platform on the Indonesia.travel website that helps tourists plan more personalized trips.

Ni Luh said strengthening technology needs to go hand in hand with collaboration among all stakeholders to improve destination readiness, connectivity, and human resource quality.