Tourism in Indonesia is on the brink of change. While Bali is suffocating from traffic, waste, and overcrowding, dozens of picturesque islands remain in the shadows. The reason for this imbalance is the excessive focus on Bali, while other regions receive fewer investments and infrastructure projects.
Indonesia has more than 17,000 islands with incredible landscapes — from Ora Beach on Seram Island (often called the "Maldives of Indonesia") to the deserted shores of the Maluku Islands. However, poor transport accessibility and lack of basic infrastructure make these destinations difficult to reach for tourists.
Photo: pinterest
While the government continues to invest in Bali, experts warn that relying on a single island is yielding diminishing returns. According to the Bali Statistics Office, in March 2025, occupancy of star-rated hotels fell to 46.61%, despite an increase in tourist numbers.
Regions like the Maluku Islands, Komodo, and Labuan Bajo are ready to offer alternatives — observing Komodo dragons, ecotourism, and untouched beaches. But this requires investments, new airports, and accessible domestic flights.
Recently, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto instructed to open as many direct international flights as possible to tourist regions to reduce dependency on hubs in Jakarta and Bali. Specific routes have already been announced as part of this initiative.
From September 12, 2025, AirAsia will launch two new direct routes from Kuala Lumpur and Kuching (Malaysian Borneo) to Pontianak, the capital of West Kalimantan. These flights make AirAsia the only carrier offering international flights to Pontianak. The routes are expected to run twice daily, significantly improving the region's transport accessibility.
From September 2025, Wings Air plans to operate a regular direct flight between Labuan Bajo in Flores and Lombok. Previously, such a flight was irregular, but now it will allow tourists to move more easily between the islands and explore new destinations.
From October 26, 2025, Scoot (a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines) will start operating direct flights from Singapore to Labuan Bajo twice a week. These flights will replace the previous Jetstar routes that were discontinued in July 2025 due to high competition and rising operational costs. The new route will significantly improve transport links and allow tourists to reach the islands of Flores more conveniently.
These new routes directly support the strategy of the "10 New Balis" initiative, launched in 2019. It includes destinations such as Labuan Bajo (Flores, a gateway to Komodo National Park), Lake Toba (North Sumatra), and Borobudur (Central Java) — the largest Buddhist temple in the world. However, the project is currently stalling due to delays in infrastructure projects and weak coordination.
Experts believe now is the perfect moment to ease the burden on Bali and introduce tourists to the true treasures of the archipelago.
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