Opportunities from US-Indonesia Deal to Premium Tourism

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The following is important information related to the development of the business universe that needs attention today based on the curation of the SUAR Team.

Is there any chance of a US-Indonesia Data Deal?

The US and Indonesian governments reached a negotiation agreement on international trade tariffs. One of them is about data.
In an official statement issued by the White House, in addition to the billion dollar deal, it was revealed that Indonesia will allow the personal data of its citizens to flow freely to the United States, or what is often referred to as Cross Border Data Transfer (CBDF).
"Indonesia will also provide certainty regarding the ability to move personal data out of its territory to the United States through recognition that the United States is a country or jurisdiction that provides adequate data protection under Indonesian law," the White House statement read.
Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto revealed that the personal data referred to in the Indonesia-US cooperation agreement is mostly data uploaded by the public themselves when registering accounts on platforms such as Google and Bing.
"When it comes to personal data, actually some personal data is the practice of the community when registering on Google, Bing, doing e-commerce and others, when creating e-mail, accounts, it is uploading its own data," said Airlangga in a press conference, Tuesday (23/7/2025).

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Economy Slows, Premium Class Travel Still Surges

Amid rumors of declining purchasing power, Indonesia's tourism and hospitality industry for the premium class is actually showing a positive stretch. This shows that the country's upper-class economic citizens still have strong purchasing power even for their tertiary needs.
Citing Lokadata research, the average annual family expenditure on entertainment for the upper 1 and upper 2 classes is increasing. In 2024, the average annual family expenditure on entertainment for the upper 1 class reached Rp 1.5 million, an increase from Rp 1.2 million in 2019. Similarly, the average annual family expenditure for upper 2 class entertainment reached IDR 600,000 in 2024, up from IDR 500,000 in 2019. Meanwhile, the average annual family expenditure on entertainment for economic classes below the upper, namely middle and lower, did not change.

The excitement of premium class tourism is also indicated by data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), namely the room occupancy rate (TPK) of five-star hotels has also increased. In May 2025 the TPK of five-star hotels reached 51.70%, an increase from April which amounted to 50.11 percent.
The high purchasing power of the premium class in tourism is also reflected in the Mandiri Spending Index research released in June 2025. The research states, in May or the long holiday period, there was a growth in upper-class spending on airplane tickets reaching 41%, hotels 4%, and restaurants by 12%.

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Questioning the Tariff Polemic: Expert Suggests Government Build National Ojol App

Throughout this year, there have been a series of protests by online transportation drivers. They went on mass strike, aka offbid, and brought five main demands: the state presents an Online Transportation Law or Perppu, a fairer profit-sharing scheme (90% drivers, 10% applicators), setting tariffs for delivery of goods and food, investigative audits of applicators, and the elimination of systems that are considered to divide driver solidarity - such as Aceng, Slot, Hub, and Multi Order.
Responding to this, the government said, "As a regulator in the transportation sector, we need to absorb various information and data to decide on an equitable and sustainable transportation policy," said Director General of Land Transportation, Aan Suhanan.
Transportation policy analyst Azar Tigor Nainggolan emphasized that the legal footing regarding online transportation must be clarified to build a fair and sustainable policy. "The rules concern the regulation of motorbikes as a means of public transportation, regulation of the online transportation business, stakeholders of the online transportation business, drivers, public transportation companies, and the application company itself," he said.

Grab Indonesia through its Chief of Public Affairs, Tirza Munusamy, stated that it respects the right of drivers to express their aspirations in an orderly manner. "Grab operations are still running. Our system automatically redirects orders to other partners if there are adjustments," she explained to SUAR (22/07).
In a different tone, online transportation service provider Maxim warned the government about the risk of fare hikes. According to Maxim Indonesia's Government Relations Specialist , Muhammad Rafi Assagaf, the plan to increase tariffs by 8%-15% for two-wheeled fleets needs to be reviewed comprehensively. "We see that the tariff increase plan must be reviewed thoroughly by involving all stakeholders," said Rafi in his official statement, Wednesday (2/7).

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Carbon Markets and the Sustainable Economy

Indonesia's carbon market has great potential to become the backbone of sustainable development, but it requires strengthening the capabilities of all stakeholders and close collaboration between the private sector, government and civil society.
Indonesian Business Council (IBC) Chief Operating Officer (COO) William Sabandar said IBC was established with the concept of sustainability as one of its pillars. He sees a gap in communication between sectors, where government initiatives often run alone without much discussion with the private sector or civil society.

Carbon expert and practitioner Paul Butar Butar highlighted the issue of quality of carbon credits that is of global concern. He referred to a Guardian report alleging"overestimation" in some projects' emission reduction claims, leading to a significant drop in demand for carbon credits, especially for older projects.
Buyers are now looking for"high quality carbon credits" that result from a very detailed and socially considerate process.

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Multiple Impacts of the Nickel Industry

The trend in the development of investment realization in the downstream sector in Indonesia is increasing. One of the commodities that investors are interested in is nickel.
Throughout 2024, the realization of nickel downstream investment amounted to IDR 153.2 trillion. Until the first quarter of 2025, the realization was recorded at IDR 47.82 trillion. This amount is the largest compared to downstream investment in fellow mineral commodities such as copper, bauxite, steel, tin, and others.
The nickel industry is one of the investment mainstays that has a considerable multiplier effect. Based on the Indonesian Nickel Miners Association report in early July, from 2020 to the third quarter of 2024, the total investment realization in this industry reached Rp 514.8 trillion.
There are 194 companies engaged in this business, which are able to absorb around 193,000 workers. In the same period, the production capacity of the main component industry for making electric vehicle batteries was 44,959 KTPA.

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Explore Bangka Belitung 2025: The Representative Office of Bank Indonesia of Bangka Belitung Islands Province is organizing the Explore Babel 2025 tourism event featuring culinary tours, micro, small and medium enterpriseUMKM) products and the largest entertainment in the area. The peak of the event will be held at the Merdeka Park Square in Pangkalpinang City on July 25 - July 27, 2025.

Bekasi Baraka 2025 UMKM Exhibition: The Bekasi City Government in collaboration with PT DAC Event will hold an UMKM exhibition titled #BekasiBarakaMarket on July 25-July 27, 2025 at Revo Mall Bekasi. This exhibition aims to promote halal products while encouraging local economic growth by involving small and medium enterprisesUMKM) and the local community.