BALINEWSID.COM, JAKARTA — Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism is pushing the Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) sector as a key driver of new economic value in the country’s tourism industry toward 2027.

Deputy Tourism Minister Ni Luh Puspa said tourism growth should not be measured solely by the number of visitor arrivals. The government also needs to encourage longer stays, higher tourist spending, better travel experiences and broader economic benefits for local communities.

“Tourism growth cannot be measured only by the number of visits. One segment with significant potential for further development is MICE,” Ni Luh said at the Indonesia Tourism & MICE Outlook (ITMO) 2027 in Jakarta on Thursday (Sept. 24, 2026).

Indonesia’s tourism sector has continued to show positive performance. In 2025, the country recorded 15.39 million international tourist arrivals and 1.20 billion domestic tourist trips, while tourism foreign exchange earnings reached approximately US$18.27 billion.

The positive trend continued in the first half of 2026. According to Statistics Indonesia (BPS), international tourist arrivals reached 7.45 million, up 5.71% from the same period a year earlier.

Against this backdrop, the government sees MICE as a segment capable of generating greater economic value by integrating business activities with tourism experiences.

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

Ni Luh said MICE participants have opportunities to extend their stays by engaging in tourism activities after attending their main events. These activities include culinary tourism, shopping for local products, wellness experiences and visits to attractions around the destination.

“Travelers who come for business purposes or to attend events are no longer simply attending conferences, meetings or concerts. They also want to experience the attractions of the local destination,” she said.

Ni Luh said MICE development therefore needs to move beyond simply organizing events toward creating experiences that become part of a destination’s appeal.

The economic impact of MICE activities can also extend across multiple sectors, including hotels, restaurants, transportation, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), the creative economy and local employment.

The Event by Indonesia program in 2025, for example, attracted 12.20 million visitors, involved 20,877 MSMEs, generated employment for 257,561 people and produced economic activity worth up to 23.76 trillion rupiah.

“When participants arrive, they use transportation, stay at hotels, enjoy local cuisine, shop for local products or souvenirs, and visit tourism attractions in the destination,” Ni Luh said.

The Indonesia Tourism Outlook 2025/2026 also identified the MICE and bleisure ecosystem—the combination of business travel and leisure—as one of six major tourism trends in Indonesia.

Alongside strengthening tourism products and destinations, the Ministry of Tourism sees technology as increasingly important to improving visitor experiences. The approach is in line with the development of Tourism 5.0, which emphasizes the use of technology throughout the travel journey.

One example is MaiA, an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered platform on the Indonesia.travel website designed to help travelers plan more personalized trips.

Ni Luh said technology adoption must go hand in hand with improvements in destination readiness, connectivity, human resources and collaboration among tourism stakeholders.

The government aims to strengthen the overall ecosystem to reinforce Indonesia’s position as a business-events destination in ASEAN while expanding the economic benefits of MICE activities for destinations and local communities.

“The new value of Indonesian tourism lies in our ability to turn every event into an experience, and every experience into value that benefits people,” Ni Luh said.