Beyond Bali: Indonesia targets Kenyan tourists with diverse holiday offering

JAKARTA, Indonesia, Sep 27— Indonesia is seeking to attract more Kenyan tourists by positioning itself as a diverse, multi-destination holiday market rather than a destination defined solely by its globally recognized Bali brand.

Indera Dewantho, Assistant to the Deputy for Marketing, Region III at Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism, said the country wants to deepen its engagement with Kenya by working more closely with travel agents, tour operators and other tourism businesses.

“Indonesia offers Kenyan travellers something that is difficult to find in a single destination: diversity. Indonesia is not only Bali,” Dewantho told Kenyan journalists during a familiarization trip to Indonesia.

He pointed to Indonesia’s more than 17,000 islands, hundreds of ethnic groups, distinctive culinary traditions, tropical landscapes and living cultural heritage as part of the country’s appeal to Kenyan travellers.

The ministry is also promoting what it describes as “quality tourism” — experiences designed to provide meaningful interaction while generating benefits for local communities and supporting environmental protection.

One example is Indonesia’s Tourism Villages programme, which enables visitors to experience local traditions, cuisine, crafts, nature and everyday community life.

“For Kenyan travellers, Indonesia can offer not simply a holiday, but a different cultural and social experience,” Dewantho said.

Beyond Bali

Bali remains one of Indonesia’s strongest international tourism brands, but the government is seeking to use that recognition to introduce visitors to destinations across the wider archipelago.

Dewantho said a Kenyan traveller could combine Bali’s Hindu culture and wellness experiences with visits to Borobudur in Java, Jakarta, Komodo National Park and the marine ecosystems of Raja Ampat.

“Our objective is to encourage international visitors to discover more of Indonesia and to create a more balanced distribution of tourism benefits across different destinations,” he said.

The approach includes Tourism Villages, quality tourism initiatives and the Event by Indonesia programme, which are intended to develop distinctive experiences in different parts of the country while involving local communities.

Dewantho said the lesson for countries such as Kenya was not simply to market more destinations, but to develop each destination around its particular strengths.

“Once destinations are ready, safe and well connected, effective marketing can help visitors discover them,” he said.

“In this way, tourism can become more diversified, encourage longer stays, and distribute economic benefits to more communities.”

Indonesia is also placing greater emphasis on tourism safety and security, which Dewantho said was a fundamental consideration for international travellers.

Distance remains a challenge

For Indonesia, however, attracting more Kenyan visitors comes with a significant practical hurdle: distance.

There is currently no nonstop Nairobi-Bali service, making air connectivity an important consideration for travellers weighing a long-haul holiday.

Dewantho said improved connectivity would benefit both tourism and wider business relations between the two countries.

“Connectivity is certainly one of the important factors in developing tourism between Indonesia and Kenya,” he said.

He said connectivity did not necessarily depend on nonstop flights, pointing instead to more convenient connections, airline cooperation and better use of international aviation hubs.

Existing one-stop options include Nairobi-Bali itineraries marketed by Qatar Airways through Doha, while Emirates offers connections from Nairobi to Bali and Jakarta.

“Joint promotions, tactical fares and stopover partnerships can therefore reduce the perception that Indonesia is ‘too far away’,” Dewantho said.

Winning the travel trade

Indonesia is also looking beyond destination advertising to the travel trade as it seeks to turn Kenyan interest into actual bookings.

Dewantho identified awareness, cost, connectivity, visa arrangements and the availability of suitable travel packages as factors affecting tourism flows between the two countries.

“This is why our strategy is not based on advertising alone,” he said.

The ministry wants to work more closely with Kenyan travel agents and tour operators through familiarisation trips, product training, sales missions and business-to-business partnerships.

“The objective should be for Indonesian packages to appear in the catalogues and booking systems of Nairobi-based operators, not simply to generate destination awareness,” Dewantho said.

The ministry has used familiarisation trips to give international travel agents and tourism professionals first-hand experience of Indonesian destinations, with the aim of encouraging them to develop those destinations into marketable travel products.

Dewantho said African travel agents participated in the Bali and Beyond Travel Fair 2026, including representatives from South Africa and Mozambique. Indonesia is also preparing to involve Ethiopian travel agents in the Wonderful Indonesia Tourism Fair 2026.

“Through these activities, we hope to build stronger networks with African travel trade and gradually increase awareness of Indonesia as a destination,” he said.

A two-way tourism opportunity

Indonesia’s interest in Kenya is not limited to attracting Kenyan visitors.

Dewantho said Kenya’s wildlife, landscapes, culture and heritage could appeal to Indonesian travellers, while awareness of Kenya as a tourism destination could be strengthened in the Indonesian market.

For both countries, he identified similar requirements for expanding long-haul tourism: accessibility, safety, reliable information, competitive costs and tourism products tailored to specific markets.

“Marketing alone cannot create sustainable tourism growth if accessibility and visitor safety are not adequately addressed,” Dewantho said.

Indonesia’s own experience, he said, also demonstrates the importance of developing tourism markets in stages.

The country’s established source markets include relatively accessible destinations such as Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and China, where geographical proximity and connectivity have supported tourism demand.

For countries seeking to develop more distant markets, Dewantho said regional markets could provide an important foundation while destinations strengthen their safety, accessibility and capacity to receive international visitors.

For Kenya, he said, the priority should similarly be to develop destinations around their individual strengths, including wildlife, culture, heritage, beaches and community-based experiences.

Indonesia’s strategy is therefore less about moving beyond Bali altogether than using Bali’s established global appeal as an entry point to a broader tourism proposition.