Antara News·Indonesia·Thursday, November 12, 2026 at 11:30 AM UTC

Bali set to become Indonesia's global creative and digital hub

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Ni Putu Putri Muliantari, Yashinta Difa

..the creative and digital economies will enable Bali's creations to reach every corner of the globe,

Denpasar, Bali (ANTARA) - National Development Planning Minister Rachmat Pambudy has outlined a vision to transform Bali into an international-standard hub for Indonesia's creative and digital economies.

Speaking at the 5th Bali Digifest in Denpasar on Thursday, Rachmat said Bali needed to diversify its economy by leveraging youth-driven innovation and local culture alongside its established tourism sector.

"While tourism has brought the world to Bali, the creative and digital economies will enable Bali's creations to reach every corner of the globe," the minister said.

The initiative is aligned with the 2025–2029 National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN), which targets annual economic growth of 8 percent and a reduction in extreme poverty to 0.5 percent by 2029.

As part of these targets, the government aims to increase the creative economy's contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) from 7.38 percent to more than 8 percent, while raising the digital economy's share from approximately 9 percent to between 12 and 13 percent.

Rachmat said Bali was well-positioned to achieve this vision, supported by 665,000 creative workers, projected creative economy investment of Rp9.9 trillion (approximately US$543.96 million) in 2025, and strong fine art export performance.

Bali's internet penetration has also reached 90.59 percent, ranking third nationally, while 99 percent of its young population has information and communication technology (ICT) skills.

According to the East Ventures Digital Competitiveness Index for the third quarter of 2026, Bali ranked seventh nationally with a score of 51.7, supported by cumulative growth of 3.7 percent in its information and communication sector.

"Few regions have a strong cultural identity, a digitally literate young population, and global recognition all at once, but Bali has all three," Rachmat said, while commending the leadership of Bali Governor Wayan Koster.

At the national level, the minister said Indonesia's internet penetration had reached 80.66 percent, covering approximately 229 million users.

Artificial intelligence (AI) adoption has also increased significantly, with 92 percent of users adopting AI and 69 percent of the workforce using generative AI over the past year.

E-commerce activity has also remained strong, with more than 65 percent of the population shopping online and total transaction values reaching Rp487 trillion (US$26.76 billion) in 2025.

Concluding his remarks, Rachmat called for more productive use of digital technology and urged Bali to become a national model for creative businesses, digital tourism, and technology-driven agriculture and fisheries.

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