Tourism Australia is employing multiple strategies to boost visitor numbers from Indonesia. These include sports tourism promotions, a Muslim-friendly destination approach, and highlighting second-tier destinations in marketing programmes.

Agitya Nuraini, country manager for Indonesia at Tourism Australia, told TTG Asia during the recent Australia Marketplace South East Asia 2025 in Jakarta that sporting events such as marathons and cycling races have grown significantly since the pandemic.

She noted some Indonesian travellers have even taken part in major international marathons held in Australia.

Marathons including the Sydney Marathon and Gold Coast Marathon remain key events in Australia’s sports calendar. As such, Tourism Australia has launched campaigns promoting marathons across the country, including those in Melbourne and Western Australia, along with major sporting events such as the Australian Open and the Formula 1 race.

Nuraini added that participants and spectators often bring their families, inspiring travel agents to create ‘sportcation’ packages of five to six nights that combine sports events with leisure activities.

She noted that Indonesian participants formed the second largest contingent among international runners in last year’s Sydney Marathon, coming just after the US.

Tourism Australia has also developed Muslim-friendly travel offerings by forming a consortium of travel agents – including AntaVaya Umroh, As-Salam by Dwidaya Tour, Cheria Holiday, and Ramah Umroh & Halal Tour – to promote combined destinations such as Sydney-Melbourne, Sydney-Gold Coast, and Melbourne-Tasmania.

“We have started to see growth in (the Indonesian) market, especially since there are many Indonesian restaurants in Sydney and Melbourne now,” Nuraini noted.

As 75 per cent of Indonesian travellers to Australia are repeat visitors, the NTO is focusing on promoting new destinations and attractions like Tasmania, Brisbane, and refreshing awareness of South Australia.

An earlier initiative in 2018 to promote Tasmania has yielded encouraging results, with FITs and family group demand up for Sydney-Tasmania and Melbourne-Tasmania trips. Indonesians were also attracted to unique experiences, such as the Seafood Seduction Cruise and self-drives between Hobart and Lancaster.

Brisbane, which will host the 2030 Summer Olympics, is also on the radar of Indonesian travel agents, who are looking to create travel packages.

To reach new source markets across Indonesia, Tourism Australia has expanded its Aussie Specialist Programme to cities such as Medan and Makassar. Partnerships with Garuda Indonesia and Singapore Airlines will also help to generate more traveller traffic to Australia from these cities.

The NTO aims to welcome 269,000 Indonesians by the end of this financial year ending June 2025, and to raise arrivals by 10 per cent in the following year.