Foreign tourist arrivals up 14.57%<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Foreign tourist arrivals increased by 14.57 percent in May, with
\nthe country's largely peaceful election process being credited
\nfor the rise, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) said on
\nThursday.<\/p>\n
The agency said the number of foreign visitors during the
\nmonth rose to more than 369,000 from over 322,000 in the previous
\nmonth.<\/p>\n
During the first five months of this year, the number of
\nforeign visitors jumped by 34.32 percent to 1.73 million compared
\nto 1.28 million in the same period of last year, the BPS report
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"The Indonesian tourism sector has shown a strong improvement
\nduring the past five months. In the same period last year,
\nforeign tourist arrivals declined sharply because of the Bali
\nbombing, the SARS epidemic, and the U.S. attack on Iraq,\" the BPS
\nreport says.<\/p>\n
The government is targeting 5 million foreign tourist this
\nyear, compared to 4.4 million last year.<\/p>\n
A number of experts have said peaceful elections would bode
\nwell for the tourist sector.<\/p>\n
The country in April conducted the legislative election and on
\nMonday will hold its first direct presidential election. A
\nsecond round will be held in September for the top-two polling
\ncandidates if no candidate wins an outright majority on Monday.<\/p>\n
Their had been fears earlier the country's election process
\nwould be marred by violence.<\/p>\n
Tourism is a major foreign exchange earner for Indonesia, the
\nbiggest economy in Southeast Asia, and the sector employs a large
\nnumber of people.<\/p>\n
On occupancy, the BPS said the average rate of star-rated
\nhotels in 10 major tourist destination areas in April rose
\nslightly, by 0.32 percent to 43.56 percent, from 43.24 percent in
\nMarch.<\/p>\n
The average length of stay of foreign tourists in star-rated
\nhotels during the month was about 2.18 days, the same as in
\nMarch. -- JP<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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