Foreign tourist arrival down 5.98%

JAKARTA: The number of foreign tourist arrivals in the country's 13 gateways plunged 5.98 percent to 346,209 in September from 368,217 in August, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported on Monday.

BPS deputy for economic statistics Slamet Mukeno said foreign tourist arrivals were always low after the July-August peak season.

However, compared to the same month last year, the 2003 September arrivals were still 8.57 percent lower, which showed that the tourism industry has not yet fully recovered.

As of September this year, the number foreign tourist arrival reached 1.66 million which was 18.41 percent lower compared to the same period last year of some 3.26 million.

Meanwhile, the occupancy rate in star-rated hotels in 10 main tourist destinations was down to 44.31 percent in August from 46.82 percent in the previous month.

The average length of stay of foreign tourists in August was 2.04 days which was only 0.07 percent higher compared to the July rate. -- JP