SiteMinder Sees Shift in Indonesia’s Domestic Travel Demand Toward Flexible and Experience-Driven Trips

JAKARTA, Jakartaweekly.com — SiteMinder has observed a shift in Indonesia’s domestic travel demand toward more flexible, spontaneous, and experience-driven trips, particularly during long weekends and the Lebaran holiday period.

The trend is reflected in the growing contribution of domestic travelers to hotel bookings across Indonesia. According to SiteMinder data during the 2026 Lebaran period, domestic guests accounted for 52 percent of total hotel bookings nationwide, up from 48 percent during the same period last year.

SiteMinder Indonesia Country Manager Fifin Prapmasari said domestic travel is no longer solely associated with the traditional homecoming (mudik) culture, but is increasingly evolving into more flexible leisure travel and staycations.

“This year’s Lebaran remains deeply rooted in family togetherness, but it is increasingly shaped by the desire to create new experiences, ranging from staycations and trips to regional destinations to greater flexibility in traveling according to personal preferences,” Fifin said in a statement on Monday, May 25, 2026.

SiteMinder’s data also showed that the shift in domestic demand is reflected in rising interest in regional destinations beyond major tourism hubs such as Bali.

Lombok recorded the highest hotel booking growth at 7.5 percent compared to last year’s Lebaran period, followed by Yogyakarta at 7.1 percent and Bandung at 6.8 percent. All three cities outperformed the national average growth rate of 2.6 percent.

Meanwhile, Bali remained relatively stable with growth of just 0.1 percent due to its already high baseline demand.

In addition to choosing more diverse destinations, domestic travelers are also becoming more spontaneous in planning their trips. This is reflected in the shorter hotel booking lead times.

Nationally, the average lead time declined from 16 days in 2025 to 15 days in 2026. Bandung recorded the shortest average booking window at just eight days before arrival.

Fifin said the pattern indicates that domestic travelers are becoming increasingly flexible in determining both the timing and destinations of their trips, particularly to take advantage of long weekend opportunities.

Amid rising domestic demand, hotels are also facing tighter pricing competition. Nationally, the average daily rate (ADR) fell 3.3 percent year-on-year to Rp1.71 million.

Bali recorded the steepest rate decline at 7.4 percent, followed by Yogyakarta at 3.4 percent and Lombok at 3.2 percent. Bandung was the only city to post an increase, with room rates rising 2.5 percent.

Fifin said the trend presents an opportunity for hotels to offer more attractive stay packages and dynamic pricing strategies to capture the growing domestic travel market.

“Hotels that are able to do so will be in a strong position to drive revenue growth, not only during Lebaran but also throughout upcoming long weekends,” she said.

(Read Jakartaweekly.com news on Google News)