The war between Thailand and Cambodia provides an opportunity for Indonesia to attract foreign tourists who previously planned to vacation in the country to divert their trips to Indonesia.

Chairman of the Indonesian Tourism Industry Association (GIPI) Haryadi Sukamdani said that Thailand's war with Cambodia is indirectly an opportunity for the domestic tourism industry. Because of the war in the two neighboring countries, foreign tourists have the potential to divert their holidays to Indonesia.

"Indonesia is a neighbor of Thailand and Cambodia. We can be an option for foreign tourists to move their vacation area. This is certainly an opportunity for us," Haryadi said when contacted on Monday (7/28/2025).

He explained that tourists who have the potential to divert their visits arelong haul flight tourists such as tourists from European countries and the United States. Because, in their countries, tourists from the region are on a long summer vacation.

Usually, they tend to take long-distance vacations with the aim of visiting tropical areas. So the foreign tourist destinations include beaches and mountains.

One way to divert foreign tourist visits is to prepare flight routes, for example the Bangkok-Yogyakarta route via transit in Kuala Lumpur. Thus, Indonesia can enjoy the arrival of foreign tourists who divert the route.

Great potential

A number of observers, on Monday (28/7), assessed that Indonesia could take economic opportunities in the tourism sector following the conflict that occurred on the border of Thailand and Cambodia some time ago.

Tourism observer Myra Gunawan highlights the major challenges Indonesia faces in attracting foreign tourists, particularly from Europe and the United States. According to her, while efforts to shift these markets away from Thailand and Cambodia can be considered an opportunity, the move is full of obstacles and challenges.

"Foreign tourists to Thailand are mainly tourists from China, Malaysia, India, South Korea and Russia, while those to Cambodia are Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, US and Korean. So actually US and European tourists, in terms of numbers, are not the main tourists to Thailand and Cambodia," he told suar (28/7/2025).

This shows that the main focus of the two neighboring countries is not the Western market.

Furthermore, he identified several obstacles that Indonesia must overcome. "Indonesia's geographical position, which is further away from Europe/US," is one factor.

In addition, "Indonesia has been in the news with many bad tourist experiences," which he said "needs to improve its image and showcase safe, comfortable and reliable destination options." He also strongly warned that Indonesia should not rely on "sex tourism" which is one of Thailand's attractions for Western tourists.

Myra Gunawan added that the private sector in Indonesia must be ready to compete with other countries such as Malaysia and Vietnam. Unfortunately, Indonesia's tourism image is currently facing problems, especially with news about tourist accidents and the behavior of some tourists in Bali who are considered disturbing the atmosphere and image of quality destinations.

Seeing this condition, Myra suggested that Indonesia be more realistic by directing attention to markets that have become the main segment, namely China, India, Malaysia, South Korea and Vietnam. According to her, these markets can be diverted to Indonesia by mobilizing other destinations outside Bali. She cited the potential of Lake Toba in North Sumatra, Tanah Minang in West Sumatra, Borobudur, West Java, as well as Manado or Lombok with Gili-gili and the south coast of Mandalika.

However, she cautioned that travelers from these countries have many destination options in mainland Asia or even Japan and Malaysia before choosing Indonesia. Therefore, Myra Gunawan emphasized, "to attract them, Indonesia needs to work hard to improve its competitiveness!" This means that infrastructure improvement, service quality enhancement, as well as more vigorous and targeted promotion are the main keys to the revival of Indonesian tourism.

Executive Director of the Center of Economic and Law Studies (CELIOS), Bhima Yudhistira, said that foreign tourists visiting Thailand are 35 million people per year, while Cambodia is 6.2 million per year.

"Indonesia can take that opportunity. The potential of 15% of the total inbound tourists from the two countries is very large and very good," he told SUAR.

Several things the government can do to take advantage of this moment. Among others, first, by promoting and incentivizing the tourism sector.

"Tourism promotion is needed to target countries with large inbound tourism to Thailand and Cambodia, such as China, Malaysia, South Korea, and Europe. So don't do general promotions, but segmented and targeted," he said.

Second, there is a need to strengthen tourism infrastructure to facilitate the digital nomad phenomenon. One of them is the poor internet connection for domestic travel via train, and sea. If you want to compete with Thailand, infrastructure is a must.

"Third, the readiness of tourism human resources in terms of vocational schools can speak English, Mandarin well, and excellent service. This all has to be fast because it is a momentum, we don't know when the war will end," he said.

The escalating military situation on the border between Thailand and Cambodia is starting to have a real impact on the tourism sector, especially in the northeast.

These tensions stem from unresolved territorial conflicts, particularly around world cultural sites such as the Preah Vihear Temple and a number of other ancient temple complexes, including Ta Krabei and Ta Muen Thom.

The temples were originally built as shrines centuries ago. However, after the end of British colonial rule, the border line between the two countries became unclear, sparking debate to this day.

As a result of the situation, the temple grounds and surrounding area are now a legal and geopolitical gray zone.

Differing interpretations of the status of the region have sparked protracted disputes and even turned into armed clashes.

In response to the escalation of the conflict, a number of countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Hong Kong began issuingtravel warnings for their citizens who plan to visit Thailand or Cambodia.

This move has had a real impact on the tourism industry, especially in the northeast, with potentially huge losses due to a decline in visits from both local and international travelers.

Senior Economist of the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF) Tauhid Ahmad said that there are opportunities from the war. Especially if for example the conflict there occurs continuously. But if for example for a while, usually later tourists will still come back.

One way to attract foreign tourists is to convince them that Indonesia is stable, safe from conflict, and safe from war situations.

He said that one way to attract foreign tourists is to convince them that Indonesia is stable, safe from conflict, and safe from war situations.

In addition, Indonesia must intensify the promotion of tourist destinations similar to destinations in Thailand, especially areas that say offer natural beauty such as mountains and beaches.