Arya News - With the launch of MAiA, Indonesia has joined the ranks of just six countries that have adopted artificial intelligence tools to boost their tourism competitiveness.
JAKARTA – The Tourism Ministry has rolled out MAiA, an AI-powered travel assistant embedded in the newly revamped Wonderful Indonesia website, in a bid to propel foreign tourist arrivals beyond pre-pandemic highs.
Unveiled on Friday, the Meticulous Artificial Intelligence of Indonesia (MAiA) promises instant, personalized recommendations that once required potential travelers to scour multiple platforms or consult travel agents.
“The launch of MAiA is the concrete realization of the government’s commitment to building a smart, inclusive and sustainable tourism ecosystem,” Tourism Minister Widiyanti Putri Wardhana said at the launch event on Nov 28.
MAiA comes equipped with a suite of intelligent tools, from tailored destination suggestions and automated itinerary builders to interactive maps and digestible attraction summaries, as well as multilingual support.
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The ministry expects its new AI tool to not only spur tourist spending but also channel benefits to overlooked regions, introducing travelers to local cuisines, crafts and districts that rarely surface as hits on conventional travel platforms.
“In terms of numbers, of course we still refer to the national development plan. Each year we’re given targets, for instance, this year it’s 14 to 15 million [foreign visitors]. MAiA can help push us toward that, to reach those levels,” the ministry’s marketing deputy Ni Made Ayu Marthini said at the launch event.
Officials say MAiA’s capabilities give them confidence that Indonesian tourism will not only recover but “go even higher” than the industry’s pre-pandemic peak in 2019.
The ministry also underscored MAiA’s strategic role in strengthening Muslim-friendly tourism, one of the fastest-growing travel segments globally, and the Wonderful Indonesia platform now features guides to halal dining, prayer facilities as well as accommodations and curated package options for Muslim travelers.
“Muslim-friendly tourism is one of the world’s biggest markets and Indonesia has what it takes, we have the assets,” Made said.
“Other countries, including those that aren’t Muslim-majority, are also chasing this space because the demand is there.”
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The move aligns with a call from the World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) for destinations to embrace AI to enhance competitiveness and minimize friction for travelers. With MAiA, Indonesia now joins a handful of national tourism organizations (NTOs) that have rolled out AI-powered platforms.
“Right now, only six NTOs in the world have implemented AI, Switzerland, Korea, Japan, Singapore and Thailand and Indonesia […]. But in terms of feature depth, we’re the best so far,” said Firnandi Gufron, the ministry’s director of tourism marketing strategy and communications.
Ensuring user safety remains a central focus, and ministry officials emphasized that MAiA was child safe and equipped with robust filters and guardrails to block inappropriate or illegal queries.
The government remains upbeat about tourism foreign exchange earnings, projecting revenues of up to US$18 billion this year. Solid performance over the first nine months and the expected surge over Christmas and New Year are seen as key drivers that could lift arrivals beyond the 14-15 million target this year.
Indonesia recorded 11.43 million foreign arrivals from January to September, up 10.22 percent from the same period in 2024. September alone recorded 1.39 million visitors, a year-on-year increase of 9.04 percent, with Malaysia, Australia and Singapore maintaining their positions as top contributors.
Although still shy of 2019’s peak of 16.11 million foreign arrivals, the rebound has remained steady to close 2024 at 13.9 million, the strongest showing since the COVID-19 pandemic.