PHOTO: Indonesia has thousands and thousands of islands beyond Bali. (Courtesy of Indonesia Sea Safaris)

The year began well for Indonesia as Yogyakarta, with its majestic temple complex at Burubador, made the New York Times 50 Best Places in the world list. Has the world’s fourth most populous country begun to re-enter the competition for long-haul international tourism in a more dedicated way? Indicators show players who primarily focus on Western travelers are beginning to gravitate toward Indonesia and not just Bali.

And why not? With more than 600 languages and cultures, 17,508 tropical islands, a diverse landscape, great food, fine diving and adventure travel, Indonesia has more tourism resources than any other country in Southeast Asia, but with an average of 8 million visitors it draws about a third of what Thailand does.

The Indonesia Tourism Promotion Board wants a broader tourism spread and more tourists. The intense popularity of Bali became a political problem last September when there were protests over a proposed theme park at Benoa Bay. Those protests compelled Bali’s governor, Mangku Pastika, to put a stop to the development, citing environmental and cultural reasons.

Domestic Tourists Lead the Way

Tourism development in Indonesia, as in much of Southeast Asia, is being led by the emergence of a new middle class that sees travel as one of the ripest fruits in their new prosperity. Created by a thriving economy, driven by ample mineral resources, that middle class and the industry that created it require new hotels, new flights, improved services and infrastructure.

The Indonesian government and the country’s flag carrier, Garuda Indonesia are laying the groundwork for these domestic travelers and a growing demand from international travelers from Western Europe. While the U.S. isn’t fiercely being targeted now, it seems to be a priority delayed for the future.

Earlier this month, Khiri Travel, a large Southeast Asian land operator, formed a partnership with veteran Indonesian operator Sunda Trails in order to launch Khiri Travel Indonesia. Speaking at ITB in Berlin, Willem Niemeijer, the company’s CEO said, “Indonesia is huge for Western European travelers who are looking for fresh experience. These travelers need more than just Bali as Bali has become a beach destination like Phuket. We serve travelers with a deeper interest in the destination than beach vacations.”

While Bali remains the top Indonesian island for Americans, there’s a world of other islands for discovery. Khiri, whose U.S. partner is Boulder, Col.-based Asia Transpacific Journeys, will go to Bali and beyond to such islands as Lombok, Sumbawa, Sumba, Flores, Nusa Tenggara Timor or East Nusa Tenggara. Niemeijer sees a “deep expertise” in Sunda Trails that will work well with his company’s professional business systems and its connections to a wide travel agent base.

The most prominent alternative to Bali is Lombok , one of the two main islands in West Nusa Tenggara Province. Officials claim that Lombok’s hotels enjoyed an occupancy rate of between 70 and 85 percent in 2013. Lombok is home to several cultures, scenic landscapes, fine beaches and Mount Rinjani, the third highest mountain in Indonesia, which is extremely popular for its hiking. Oberois and Novotel have opened Lombok resorts as the island has seen long term double digit growth (15 percent) in arrivals between 2001 and 2012, when 858,710 visitors arrived, just 3 percent of them American.

In Lombok’s Sekotong region a massive 49-hectare resort complex is being developed called The Sundancer. The development is located on prime beachfront land and will open in stages, starting with a five-star resort. Further stages will include residential developments and still more resorts. Lombok’s Svarga Resort is comprised of 25 beach front suites near Senggigi, the island’s main tourism area.

Garuda Joins SkyTeam  

After the Asian currency crisis in the late ’90s, Garuda pulled back on its major long-haul routes and doubled down on its short haul service to Asian neighbors and to connecting its own 17,000 island archipelago. Despite the pullback from long-haul, the carrier had kept its connection to Amsterdam because of historical colonial roots between the two countries.

In May, Garuda will begin serving Gatwick London from Jakarta, signaling a cautious re-entry into the long-haul market. The launch is part of the airline’s long term “Quantum Leap” plan, which is focused on turning Garuda into a leading global airline by 2015. As it stands now, the carrier’s long haul international network includes just Amsterdam, Riyadh and Dubai.

In the U.S. it’s taking a more incremental approach. In early March, Garuda joined SkyTeam, whose U.S. affiliate is Delta. That gives Indonesia a strong American partner in connecting the U.S. market to Indonesia more thoroughly than it has been since Garuda pulled out of Los Angeles and the U.S. almost two decades ago.

“We’ll be well connected to the U.S. via Delta. Another SkyTeam partner, China Airlines, also offers an easy connection to Indonesia through Taipei,” said Rick Wouters, Garuda’s sales & marketing manager for the Netherlands. All those Delta frequent fliers will also have a nice long-haul prize to haul in with their points.

In 2015, Garuda hopes to add Frankfurt, Paris, Rome, and Milan. A lot will depend on how the London route does. Prospects are bright as the British traveler has shown a keen interest in Indonesia in recent years. For the time being the Asia-Pacific region accounts for more than 93 percent of Garuda's international capacity.

To promote travel to more remote islands for travel mostly by the domestic Indonesian travelers, Garuda ordered 25 70-seat ATR72-600 aircraft to operate flights under a new brand, Explore. The aircraft can serve places such as Eastern Indonesia where there’s limited runway capacity.

The country’s primary gateway, Jakarta, needs more capacity. Jakarta reopened its secondary airport in February due to congestion at Soekarno-Hatta Airport. Halim Perdanakusuma Airport operates a single runway that has been mostly used by military but is earmarked for expansion by the government. The government has also offered 10 airports to private developers including Lampung Radin Inten Airport, Jayapura Sentani Airport, Palu Pearls Airport and Labuan Bajo Komodo Airport.