Tourism in Indonesia is an important component of the Indonesian economy as well as a significant source of its foreign exchange revenues. The vast country of sprawling archipelago has much to offer; from natural beauty, historical heritage to cultural diversity. In 2011, the number of international tourists arriving in Indonesia climbed 9.24 percent to 7.65 million arrivals from about 7 million in 2010. Length of stay set at 7.84 days by an average spend of US$1,118.26 per visit. In late January 2011 Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik announced that "Wonderful Indonesia" would replace the previous “Visit Indonesia Year” branding used by the nations official tourism promotional campaigns, although the logo of stylized curves Garuda remain. The minister announced that in 2010, foreign tourists visiting Indonesia touched 7 million and made predictions of 7.7 million in 2011. He was reported as describing the new branding as reflecting "the country’s beautiful nature, unique culture, varied food, hospitable people and price competitiveness. “We expect each tourist will spend around US$1,100 and with an optimistic target of 7.7 million arrivals, we will get $8.3 billion,” from this. The Culture and Tourism Minister added that 50 percent of the revenue would be generated from about 600 meetings, conventions and exhibitions that were expected to take place in various places throughout the country 2011. He further added in the announcements of January 2011 that his ministry would be promoting the country’s attractions under the eco-cultural banner. Ten most tourist destinations in Indonesia recorded by Central Statistics Agency (BPS) are Bali, West Java, Central Java, East Java, Jakarta, North Sumatra, Lampung, South Sulawesi, South Sumatra, Banten and West Sumatra (which would make it 11 provinces today due to Banten previously having been a part of West Java). As with most countries, domestic tourists are by far the largest market segment. The biggest movement of domestic tourists is during the annual Eid ul-Fitr, locally known as "lebaran". During this period, which is a two-week holiday after the month of fasting during Ramadan, many city-dwelling Muslim Indonesians visit relatives in their home towns. Intercity traffic is at its peak and often an additional surcharge is applied during this time. Over the five years up to 2006, attention has been focused on generating more domestic tourism. Competition amongst budget airlines has increased the number of domestic air travellers throughout the country. Recently, the Ministry of Labour legislated to create long weekends by combining public holidays that fall close to weekends, except in the case of important religious holidays. During these long weekends, most hotels in popular destinations are fully booked. Since 2000, on average, there have been five million foreign tourists each year (see table), who spend an average of US$100 per day. With an average visit duration of 9–12 days, Indonesia gains US$4.6 billion of foreign exchange income annually. This makes tourism Indonesia's third most important non-oil–gas source of foreign revenue, after timber and textile products. Three quarters of Indonesia's visitors come from the Asia-Pacific region, with Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Japan and China among the top countries of origin. The United Kingdom, France, and Germany are the largest sources of European visitors. Although Dutch visitors are at least in part keen to explore the historical relationships, many European visitors are seeking the tropical weather at the beaches in Bali. Around 59% of all visitors are traveling to Indonesia for holiday, while 38% for business purposes. In 2005, tourism accounted for 7% of job opportunities and 5% of Indonesian GDP.[17] In January 2010 the Coordinating Minister for the Economy Hatta Rajasa was reported as announcing that he expected "the tourism sector to contribute 4.8 percent of the gross domestic product” in the 2010 year. Initially the tourism, service and hospitality sector in Dutch East Indies were developed to cater the lodging, entertainment and leisure needs of domestic visitors, especially the wealthy Dutch plantation owners and merchants during their stay in the city. In 19th century, colonial heritage hotels equipped with dance hall, live musics and fine dining restaurant were established in Dutch East Indies urban areas, such as Hotel des Indes (est. 1829) in Jakarta, Savoy Homann Hotel (est. 1871) in Bandung, and Hotel Oranje (est. 1910) in Surabaya. Much of the international tourism of the 1920s and 1930s was by international visitors on oceanic cruises. The 1930s did see a modest but significant influx of mainly European tourists and longer term stayers to Bali. Many came for the blossoming arts scene in the Ubud area, which was as much a two-way exchange between the Balinese and outsiders as it was an internal phenomenon. Tourism more or less disappeared during World War II, Indonesian National Revolution and in the early years of the Sukarno era. National pride and identity in the late 1950s and early 1960s was incorporated into the monumentalism of Sukarno in Jakarta — and this included the development of grand multi-storied international standard hotels and beach resorts, such as Hotel Indonesia in Jakarta (est. 1962), Ambarrukmo Hotel in Yogyakarta (est. 1965), Samudra Beach Hotel in Pelabuhan Ratu beach West Java (est. 1966), and Inna Grand Bali Beach Hotel in Bali (est. 1966). The political and economic instability of the mid-1960s saw tourism decline radically again. Bali, and in particular the small village of Kuta, was however, in the 1960s, an important stopover on the overland hippy trail between Australia and Europe, and a "secret" untouched surf spot. In the early-to-mid 1970s, high standard hotels and tourist facilities began to appear in Jakarta and Bali. After the completion of Borobudur restoration project in 1982, Yogyakarta become a popular tourist attraction in Indonesia after Bali, mostly attracted to this 8th century Buddhist monument, surrounding ancient Javanese temples and Yogyakarta Sultanate palace. From this period to the end of the Suharto era, governmental policies of the tourism industry included an array of regulations and developments to encourage increasing numbers of international tourists to both visit Indonesia and stay longer.
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