Why are there very few tourists from Indonesia and the Philippines visiting each other’s countries despite the distance?

Matius Teguh Nugroho

 

a boy who loves traveling, writing, and riding trains.

Why are there very few tourists from Indonesia and the Philippines visiting each other’s countries despite the distance?

Because Indonesia and The Philippines are very lookalike, or at least Indonesians think The Philippines is similar to our country and vice versa.

What is Philippines’ main natural attractions? White sandy beaches. What is one of Indonesia’s main natural attractions? White sandy beaches.

Okay, Thailand and Malaysia are also heaven for white sandy beaches. But what makes them more interesting than The Philippines for us Indonesians is that they have, generally, better infrastructure. Meanwhile, Jakarta and Manila are.. ehem.

Another reason is that the flights to Philippines are usually expensive compared to flights to Singapore or Malaysia.

The Philippines is an archipelago, just like Indonesia. Some Indonesian travelers love to visit some Southeast Asian countries at once. So, they prefer mainland Southeast Asian countries than the oceanic one like The Philippines and Brunei. Visiting Singapore/Malaysia/Thailand makes us easier to visit Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, even China.

And then there’s religion/beliefs. Most Indonesians are Muslim, while Filipino are mostly Catholic. Indonesians would find it difficult to find a halal food in The Philippines. In the other hand, Filipino who love to eat pork and drink beer might find Indonesia is boring because both pork and alcohol are not that widespread in Indonesia.