Indonesia marine tourism development

The Indonesian National Shipowners’ Association (INSA) launched the 3rd biennial INSA Yacht Festival in Bali from August 7 to 9, 2026. The event was designed to promote Indonesia’s marine tourism ecosystem and showcase the nation’s readiness to become a world-class destination by leveraging its biodiversity and status as a large archipelago.

Minister of Tourism Widiyanti Putri Wardhana noted that yacht tourism, alongside cruise tourism and diving, serves as a primary pillar of high-quality marine tourism development. Carmelita Hartoto, General Chair of INSA, emphasized that optimizing this sector requires collaboration between governments, business actors, and associations to create a multiplier effect for the regional economy, benefiting marinas, shipyards, and coastal MSMEs.

Following the festival, industry stakeholders moved to strengthen the sector’s infrastructure. INSA partnered with PT Biro Klasifikasi Indonesia (BKI), PT Jasaraharja Putera, and PT Reasuransi Indonesia Utama to establish Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) focused on safety standards and risk management. These agreements aim to integrate ship classification, technical risk control, and insurance protection to create a safer, more sustainable maritime tourism sector.

Under this partnership, BKI is implementing specific notations for tourism vessels to improve national classification standards through technical studies and human resource certification. Industry leaders expect these improved standards to make operational risks more measurable, potentially leading to more competitive insurance premiums. Furthermore, the initiative seeks to increase the confidence of financial institutions, thereby opening better access to financing for maritime tourism businesses.