Southeast Asia's largest economy boosts culinary tourism

By VNA February 9, 2025 | 05:34 pm PT

Visitors are seen inside a cafe in Badung regency, Bali, Indonesia, March 8, 2022. Photo by Reuters

Indonesia, the largest economy in Southeast Asia, has highlighted the country's rich culinary heritage as a key strategy to attract more foreign tourists.

Hariyanto, Deputy for Tourism and Infrastructure Development at the ministry, said on Feb. 7 that culinary tourism is one of Indonesia's priority programs, both in the short and long terms.

The official highlighted that Indonesia has several local cuisines that foreign tourists can choose dishes from, such as fried rice, gado-gado (vegetable salad with peanut sauce), and soto (traditional Indonesian soup).

Indonesian culinary tourism, he continued, is unlimited and interesting so the potential to increase foreign tourist spending is much greater compared to destinations in other countries, he said.

To promote Indonesian culinary tourism, he said that the Ministry of Tourism is currently focusing on culinary products to ensure that tourism products can move up a class. It is also paying attention to wellness tourism, gastronomy, marine, and fashion.

According to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the average expenditure of foreign tourists during their visit to Indonesia was around $1,391 in 2024.

Acting head of the BPS, Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti, said that the expenditure was mostly for accommodation as well as food and beverages, which accounted for 57.49% of foreign tourists' total spending.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, foreign tourists spent an average of $1,287 per visit and stayed in the country for approximately 10.39 nights.