Indonesia's Tourism Minister Widiyanti Putri Wardhana opened the Wonderful Indonesia Wellness 2025 festival in Solo, Central Java, to promote wellness tourism. The event highlights Indonesia's leading position in Southeast Asia's wellness economy. The festival runs throughout November in Solo and Yogyakarta.
On Saturday night (November 1, 2025), Indonesia's Tourism Minister Widiyanti Putri Wardhana inaugurated the Wonderful Indonesia Wellness (WIW) 2025 festival at Taman Balekambang in Surakarta, Central Java. The event aims to promote wellness tourism in Indonesia, where travelers now seek destinations not just for vacations but also to reduce stress and improve health.
"Because, the world now has increasingly high stress levels. So, they are looking for destinations that provide wellness products, whatever they may be and other products, so that when they return home, they are healthy again and no longer stressed," Widiyanti said in her opening speech.
The Ministry of Tourism has established seven main categories of wellness tourism, including eco-nature tourism, jamu and herbal, healthy cuisine, lifestyle and fitness, arts, spiritual healing, and spa and ethno spa. Widiyanti considers Solo an ideal destination due to its rich culture that can be packaged with health concepts, such as learning to dance, making jamu, and enjoying healthy cuisine. She appreciated the Surakarta City Government and Tourism Office for preparing various attractive events, including learning gending and making healthy food.
"We also want to target quality tourists who stay longer and have higher spending," she added.
According to Ministry of Tourism data, Indonesia ranks first in Southeast Asia for the wellness economy, valued at 56.4 billion US dollars in 2023. The country also has the third fastest growth in the Asia-Pacific region.
Surakarta Mayor Respati Ardi welcomed the festival's hosting. "Thank you for the trust from the Ministry of Tourism for making Solo one of the host cities for the wellness tourism event. With two main cultural pillars, the Keraton and Pura Mangkunegaran, we have a wealth of cultural experiences ready to be combined with wellness tourism concepts," he said. The festival will run for a full month in Solo and Yogyakarta.