Indonesia Joins Qatar in Building a Sports Tourism Future as Australia, France and South Korea Influence Global Travel Trends — What It Means for International Travelers

Indonesia sports tourism surges with $3 billion World Cup stadium push to challenge Qatar

James Okafor | GlobalBeat

Jakarta unveiled a $3 billion stadium rebuild Monday aimed at landing the 2035 FIFA Women’s World Cup and luring Middle East-level sports tourism revenue.

The centerpiece will be a 75,000-seat retractable-roof arena on Borneo island, officials said, designed by the same Populous architects behind Qatar’s Lusail Stadium that hosted the 2022 men’s final.

Indonesia has never staged a senior World Cup and lost the rights to host this year’s Under-20 edition after local governors refused to host Israel’s team. Sports Minister Dito Ariotedjo told reporters the new plan “resets global perception” and could triple overseas visitor numbers within a decade.

The announcement drops two weeks before FIFA opens bidding for the 2035 women’s tournament and follows Qatar’s $220 billion infrastructure blitz ahead of 2022. Tourism analysts say Gulf states have shown sport can diversify economies faster than oil wells, and Jakarta wants in.

“Qatar set a benchmark,” Ariotedjo said. “We think Indonesia can match the entertainment value at one-tenth the cost because our islands already draw 16 million foreigners a year.”

France, Australia and South Korea are simultaneously ramping up sports-focused travel packages. France sold 2.4 million rugby World Cup hospitality nights last year, Tourism Minister Olivia Gregoire said, while Australia is budgeting $600 million to co-host the 2036 Summer Olympics and South Korea plans Formula 1 races through 2031.

Indonesia’s blueprint calls for upgrading eight existing stadiums, adding 1,500 kilometers of toll roads and tripling hotel rooms around Bali, Jakarta and the new Borneo site to 450,000 by 2033. Cabinet papers project 5 million extra sports tourists a year, each spending an average $2,500, generating $12.5 billion annually.

Economists at Bank Mandiri called the revenue forecast “aggressive but reachable” if the government unlocks visa-free entry for India and China, something Qatar enacted for 102 countries before 2022.

FIFA observers are skeptical. The women’s tournament drew a record 2 million spectators in Australia and New Zealand last year, but stadiums averaged 32,500 seats, half the size Indonesia now proposes. “Legacy use is FIFA’s biggest worry,” one inspector told Reuters, requesting anonymity because bid files are confidential.

Local governors want guarantees. Borneo building costs will fall on East Kalimantan province, still paying debts from the 2018 Asian Games. Governor Isran Noor said he supports the project only if Jakarta funds half. “We won’t repeat the white-elephant story,” he said, referring to abandoned venues that dot host cities from Athens to Brazil.

Labor unions are already pushing for wage hikes. A survey by the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association found 62 percent of hospitality workers in Bali back the plan if salaries rise at least 15 percent. “Tourists come to see smiling faces, not stressed ones,” union head Dionisius Yudi Prabowo said.

Environmental groups warn the Borneo site sits on orangutan habitat. The NGO Auriga counted 25 endangered primates within 5 kilometers of the planned stadium footprint. Activist Tuntung Subroto said relocation talks have started but no sanctuary site has been chosen. “We need a plan before the first bulldozer,” he said.

Qatar’s embassy in Jakarta welcomed the competition. Ambassador Fikry Kassem told local radio that co-hosting between Asia and the Gulf “doubles the market” for Muslim-majority destinations often skipped by Western fans. Qatar Airways last month added 14 weekly flights to Denpasar, filling 92 percent of seats, data from consultancy OAG shows.

Investors are watching. Hong Kong hedge fund Sansar Capital bought a 19 percent stake in Indonesian sports marketing firm Media Nusantara Citra last month, betting on ad sales tied to global events. “Rights fees jump 40-60 percent when you become a host,” portfolio manager Karen Lim said.

The government has scheduled a feasibility study completion for December and promised public hearings in all 38 provinces. Parliament must approve the $3 billion budget line by April 2025 or risk missing FIFA’s hosting criteria, which require signed government guarantees.

Background

Indonesia has bid for the Olympics twice, in 1992 and 2032, and lost both times to Barcelona and a joint Brisbane effort. The archipelago has never hosted a FIFA senior tournament but staged the 1962 Asian Games and the 2018 Asian Para Games, building 13 venues now struggling with upkeep.

Qatar’s 2022 spending spree rewrote the playbook. Organizers claimed 1.4 million visitors spent $8 billion in three weeks and forecast tourism to contribute 12 percent of GDP by 2030, up from 7 percent in 2022. The IMF says the emirate needs oil at $55 a barrel to balance its budget, down from $78 before the tournament, thanks to hotel and airline taxes.

What’s Next

FIFA will publish technical requirements for the 2035 Women’s World Cup in October and inspect shortlisted countries between March and July 2027. Indonesia must finalize financing, environmental permits and legacy agreements before that inspection window or cede advantage to expected rivals Australia, Brazil and a joint Belgium-Netherlands bid.

The tourism battle is set to intensify: France will host the 2025 world cycling championships, South Korea stages the 2027 Asian Cup and Queensland continues talks on an Olympics debut in 2036. Indonesia’s move shows Southeast Asia is no longer content to let Gulf states and Western nations monopolize the sports-tourism dividend.