FOREIGN TOURIST VISIT TO INDONESIA INCREASES

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) recorded that the number of foreign  tourist arrivals to Indonesia in March 2013 increased by 10.13% when compared to the same month in 2012. Number of foreign tourist in March 2013 reached 725,300 visits, while in March 2012 only 658,600 visits. And, when compared to February 2013, number of foreign tourists visit in March rose by 6.19%. “Foreign tourists visit to Indonesia has increased, and tourists already feel safe in visiting Indonesia”, said Head of BPS, Suryamin on Thursday (5/2)

Suryamin reported that cumulatively in January-March  2013, the number of foreign tourist reached 2.02 million visits, up 6% compared to the same period in the previous year, amounting to 1.90 million visits. The highest increase in the number of foreign tourists visit was recorded through the entrance gate of Lombok International Airport, Mataram at 46.97%, followed by Adi Sucipto Airport, Yogyakarta 40.22%, and Minangkabau Airport, Padang 29.20%. Meanwhile, the number of foreign tourists through eight entrance gates experienced decline, with the highest decline occurring in Adi Sumarmo Airport, Surakarta by 32.27%, and the lowest decline in Polonia Airport, Medan 1.41%.

The number of foreign tourist to Bali through Ngurah Rai Airport in March 2013 increases 10.80% compared to March 2012 from 223, 000 visits to 247, 00 visits. Compared to February 2013, number of foreign tourists visiting Bali through Ngurah Rai Airport also rose by 4.24%. Based on existing data, Bali’s tourism industry is estimated to account for 40% of total national tourism revenue. Bali’s total tourism revenue reached approximately Rp. 40 trillion from hotels, restaurants, travel agencies and other tourism sectors.

Based on data from BPS, the number of foreign tourist coming through Ngurah Rai International Airport in 2012 was recorded at 2.9 million people. This amount is the largest in Indonesia compared to other gates such as Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta and Batam Port in Riau Archipelago. In the period from January to February 2013, most of the tourists who visited Bali were from Australia which is as many as 212, 657 people. This amount is down 14% compared to the same period one year earlier.

BPS data states that tourist from the United Arab Emirates represent the largest number of total foreign tourists visiting Indonesia during January to March 2013, i.e. 55.5% of the total of 2.02 million tourists. In addition, there are also foreign tourists from Egypt, India, Bahrain and Hong Kong. The highest increase of tourist arrival is from 19 main entrances, coming from the entrance gate of Batam, and Jakarta and Bali. Suryamin said that encouraging growth also occurred in foreign tourist visits from Europe, with the highest increase recorded by tourists from England at approximately 14.2%, followed by France and Russia which increased by 7.3% and 4.1% respectively.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy set a target of foreign tourists visit in 2013 in three scenarios, i.e. the pessimistic target of 8.3 million people, a moderate target of 8.6 million people, and an optimistic target of 9 million people. Last year, the number of foreign tourists visiting Indonesia reached 8,044,462, up 5.2% compared to the number of visits in 2011. Meanwhile, for the length of stay and foreign tourist expenditure in 2012, an average of 7.7 days and USD1, 133 per tourist. (E)  

Business News - May 8, 2013