Sector
Tourism
Indonesia has designated tourism as a primary sector with a strong commitment to integrated infrastructure development and the enhancement of skilled and quality human resources. In 2023, the realization of investment in the tourism sector was predominantly driven by domestic investment (PMDN), reaching Rp 14.9 trillion. The PMDN funds were allocated to various types of businesses, including Rp 8.228 billion for star-rated hotels in West Nusa Tenggara, Rp2.601 billion for tourism areas in DKI Jakarta, and Rp1.656 billion for restaurants in Bali.
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Tourism
Indonesia has designated tourism as a primary sector with a strong commitment to integrated infrastructure development and the enhancement of skilled and quality human resources. In 2023, the realization of investment in the tourism sector was predominantly driven by domestic investment (PMDN), reaching Rp 14.9 trillion. The PMDN funds were allocated to various types of businesses, including Rp 8.228 billion for star-rated hotels in West Nusa Tenggara, Rp2.601 billion for tourism areas in DKI Jakarta, and Rp1.656 billion for restaurants in Bali.
Indonesia has identified 10 priority tourism destinations, including Borobudur, Mandalika, Labuan Bajo, Bromo Tengger Semeru, Thousand Islands, Lake Toba, Wakatobi, Tanjung Lesung, Morotai, and Tanjung Kelayang. Both domestic and international tourists constitute the country’s tourism market potential. In 2023, the number of foreign tourist visits reached 11.68 million, with the largest contributions coming from Malaysia, Australia, Singapore, China, and East Timor. This increase in visits also corresponds with the growth of tourism foreign exchange earnings, which reached US$6.08 billion in the first semester of 2023.
Major provinces attracting international tourists include Bali, DKI Jakarta, Riau Islands, West Nusa Tenggara, and East Java. Meanwhile, the number of domestic tourist trips in 2023 reached 749,114,709 trips, with DKI Jakarta, DI Yogyakarta, and East Java having the highest travel ratios.
Aside from the tourism sector, Indonesia’s creative economy sector has also shown significant growth, with exports reaching US$11.82 billion in the first half of 2023. The fashion subsector is the main contributor with US$6.56 billion (55.52 percent), followed by culinary products with US$4.46 billion (37.70 percent), and crafts with US$792.67 million (6.71 percent).
Moreover, the sector has realized US$225.28 million in foreign direct investment (FDI) and US$577.87 million in domestic direct investment (DDI) in the first quarter of 2023 out of the sector’s total target investment of US$2.68 billion in 2022. The Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry targets investment in this sector to reach US$6-8 billion, with the hope of creating 4.4 million new jobs in 2024. This investment fund is planned to be allocated for the development of five-star hotel accommodations in super-priority tourism destination areas (DPSP) and 10 other priority tourism destinations.
Meanwhile, realized investments in the tourism sector in 2022 amounted to US$2.33 billion. Furthermore, FDI also contributes significantly, especially reaching Rp8.7 trillion from Singapore amounting to Rp2.458 billion, followed by Hong Kong with Rp1.720 billion, and India with Rp1.385 billion.
Latest News
Pos Indonesia, the country's oldest state-owned enterprise (SOE), has come under renewed scrutiny following the resignation of its president director, Daud Joseph, after only three months in office. His departure was followed by allegations of governance irregularities, including suspected manipulation of the company's financial statements, prompting state asset fund Danantara to launch an audit. The episode underscores the persistent weaknesses in SOE governance that have contributed to the sector's underperformance for years.
Joseph was appointed president director on March 11 after previously serving as operations and safety director at Transjakarta. He filled a leadership vacancy that had been occupied by an acting president director for nearly a year. On June 22, however, Joseph resigned, saying Pos Indonesia required a leader with more specialized expertise to carry out the company's transformation.
His resignation came amid a sharp deterioration in the company's financial performance. Pos Indonesia's revenue fell by 20 percent in 2025, declining from Rp 5.02 trillion (US$286 million) to Rp 3.97 trillion. This was well below the company's five-year average revenue of Rp 5.06 trillion and marked its lowest annual revenue since 2013. Consequently, gross profit declined to Rp 1.5 trillion.
The decline was driven partly by lower logistics revenue from government social assistance distribution programs, including cash, rice and food aid, which fell to only Rp 300 billion. Beyond government-related services, Pos Indonesia also recorded weaker revenue from its logistics, courier and property businesses. By the first half of 2025, the parent company had posted an operating loss of Rp 37.92 billion. Operating cash flow also remained under pressure, with a negative balance of Rp 677.52 billion, extending a trend that began in 2024.
Beyond its weakening financial performance, governance failures have created additional risks for the company. In June 2025, Pos Indonesia disclosed estimated losses of Rp 37.73 billion resulting from employee fraud, up from Rp 34.49 billion estimated at the end of 2024. Around half of the estimated losses originated from the company's Makassar regional office. These figures remain subject to an ongoing audit as investigators examine misconduct that accumulated over several years.
Employee fraud has repeatedly surfaced within Pos Indonesia, ranging from the misappropriation of social assistance funds to broader operational misconduct. Last month, authorities arrested a fugitive linked to corruption in the distribution of funds under the Family Hope Program (PKH) in Cirebon, a case that caused state losses of Rp 264.55 million. Another corruption case in Bengkulu involved the misuse of stamp duty revenue and pension funds between 2022 and 2024, resulting in estimated state losses of around Rp 3 billion.
These recurring governance failures stand in stark contrast to Pos Indonesia's financial recovery after 2019. The company successfully reversed a comprehensive net loss of Rp 104.38 billion in 2019 into a comprehensive net profit of Rp 839 billion in 2024. However, the downturn appears to have resumed, with comprehensive net income reaching only Rp 144.74 billion in the first half of 2025.
The combination of deteriorating financial performance and suspected governance failures has prompted Danantara to intervene. The sovereign wealth fund plans to appoint a new management team to restore Pos Indonesia as a financially healthy, professionally managed and accountable company. Since its establishment, Danantara has consistently emphasized improving governance standards across SOEs by strengthening financial reporting and enforcing accountability for misconduct.
Nevertheless, the impact of these reforms has yet to become evident. Several major SOEs, including MIND ID and Telkom Indonesia, reported weaker financial performance in 2025. Questions have also emerged over Danantara's own reporting practices. For example, Danantara reported Bank Rakyat Indonesia's (BRI) profit at Rp 21.2 trillion for the first four months of this year, while the bank's official financial statements recorded net profit of Rp 15.9 trillion, raising concerns about data consistency and transparency.
The problems at Pos Indonesia should therefore not be viewed as an isolated corporate failure, but as a reflection of longstanding structural weaknesses in Indonesia's SOE governance framework. Unless these underlying issues are addressed, governance reforms under Danantara are unlikely to deliver lasting improvements in SOE performance.
