KBRN, Jakarta: Tourism Minister Widiyanti Putri Wardhana acknowledged a slight decline in domestic tourist arrivals to Bali during the 2025 year-end holiday season, but rejected reports suggesting the island was “quiet.”

“Bali is not quiet; it remains lively. The decline in domestic visitors is minimal, only around 2 percent,” Widiyanti said during a visit to Pondok Indah Mall (PIM) 1 in Jakarta with Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto on Friday, December 26, 2025.

She explained that the drop in domestic arrivals may be linked to widespread reports of unfavorable weather conditions and other information that discouraged travelers from choosing Bali for their year-end holidays.

“As a result, many opted to travel across Java, including Central Java, East Java, West Java, and Yogyakarta. In Yogyakarta, we’ve seen a remarkable surge in visitors,” she noted.

In contrast, foreign tourist arrivals to Bali remain strong and have even increased. “So far, Bali has welcomed about 6.8 million international visitors, close to the target of 7 million,” Widiyanti said.

That figure surpasses last year’s total of 6.33 million, according to data from the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS).

Nationwide, Indonesia has recorded 15.3 million international arrivals in 2025, based on Ministry of Tourism data. Coordinating Minister Airlangga Hartarto said this marks a record high for foreign visits since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Minister Airlangga added that shopping programs introduced throughout the year are expected to attract even more visitors. “Tourists don’t just visit destinations; they also shop,” he said, citing Malaysian tourists as the largest group of foreign visitors.

“They tried the Whoosh high-speed train and shopped at factory outlets in Bandung. This kind of tourism experience is what we aim to promote,” the Minister concluded. (Gusti Panji/Sri Wahyuni)