Garuda Indonesia launches stopover program to boost regional tourism

Garuda Indonesia has launched the ‘Garuda Indonesia Stopover Program’ in partnership with the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and Mastercard. The initiative aims to redistribute international tourist spending by encouraging visitors to travel beyond primary entry hubs like Bali and Jakarta to secondary destinations across the archipelago.

Under the program, eligible international passengers on specific long-haul or regional routes can add domestic connecting flights to participating destinations at no additional cost during the initial booking process. This is intended to transform single-destination trips into multi-destination journeys, potentially increasing the length of stay for foreign visitors and boosting regional economies.

Data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS) indicates that foreign arrivals are currently heavily concentrated in Bali, which saw 6.9 million visits, and Jakarta, with 2.8 million. The program seeks to direct flow toward priority tourism destinations, including Lake Toba, Borobudur, Mandalika, and Labuan Bajo. Mastercard is also utilizing its global network and consumer insights to help channel cross-border spending into these regional tourism ecosystems.