Foreign tourist arrivals climb

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Foreign tourist arrivals through the 13 entry points across the country in July climbed 21.71 percent compared to the previous month, according to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) monthly report.

However the July figure represented a 10.1 percent decline when compared to July 2002.

From January to July this year, Indonesia received 1.95 million foreign tourists, compared to 2.46 million in the same period last year.

Indonesia's tourist industry has been battered by last year's Bali bombing, the fallout from the Iraq war, the outbreak of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in Asia, and the recent JWC Marriott bombing.

The impact of the JWC Marriot bombing on the country's tourist industry remained unclear as it occurred on Aug. 5, which was not covered by BPS's latest report.

Tourist industry players fear that foreign tourist arrivals, which had been steadily increasing prior to the Marriot bombing, will plunge again after the bombing.

BPS's report confirmed the steady increase. In June, the agency said, occupancy rates at hotels in 10 tourist cities averaged 43.79 percent, up from 40.54 percent in May. In April, the occupancy rate averaged 39.27 percent.

In June, Yogyakarta hotels reached a peak of 60.84 percent, up from 45.56 percent the previous month.

The average length tourists stayed in star-rated hotels climbed slightly to 2.0 days in June, from 1.95 days in May.

In Bali, the country's most popular destination, tourists stayed for an average of 3.08 days in June, while in Yogyakarta and Jakarta, they stayed for an average of 2.6 days and 1.96 days respectively.