Foreign tourist arrivals drop again in May

Foreign tourist arrivals drop again in May

JAKARTA (JP): Foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia continued
to drop in May after a decrease in April.

Ministry of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications data shows
that the number of tourists arriving in Indonesia decreased 3.8
percent to 322,933 in May from 335,735 in May last year.

Foreign tourist arrivals dropped 0.7 percent in May from
325,842 in April 1997.

The data shows the country's foreign exchange earnings from
tourists increased 0.4 percent in May to US$422.46 million from
$420.64 in May 1996. Foreign exchange earnings in May this year
were lower than the $426.27 million booked in April.

Total foreign exchange receipts increased 5.1 percent to $2.14
billion in the January to May period, up from the same period in
1996.

Data shows that tourist arrivals dropped in May at three of
the country's main gates, including Jakarta (a 23.7 percent
fall), Surabaya (8.9 percent) and Medan (9.4 percent).

The Entikong gate, at a border in West Kalimantan, shows a 43
percent increase and the airports in Manado (North Sulawesi),
Denpasar (Bali) and on Batam island (Riau) all booked a slight
growth.

Foreign tourist arrivals through Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta
International Airport dropped 12 percent in the January to May
period.

Total foreign tourist arrivals dropped 23.7 percent in May, 13
percent in April, 11.6 percent in March, 11.6 percent and 2.2
percent in January.

The data shows the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport was
still the prime entry point for foreign tourists between January
and May, recording 33.4 percent of the total foreign tourist
arrivals, followed by Ngurah Rai airport in Bali (30.3 percent)
and Batam island (27 percent).

These three entry points recorded 93.6 percent of the foreign
tourist arrivals during the first five months of 1997.

The data shows 1,637,983 foreign tourists visited Indonesia
through seven major entrances during January to May this year,
0.7 percent more than the 1,627,215 in the same period last year.

Bali and Manado recorded the highest growth with a 13 percent
and a 28 percent increase respectively.

Tourist arrivals in Medan, North Sumatra, and Surabaya, East
Java, fell by 6.9 percent and 1.9 percent respectively in the
January to May period this year.

Foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia rose in 1996 by 17
percent to five million, bringing in $5.13 billion in foreign
exchange.

Indonesia expects to earn between $7.2 billion and $7.8
billion from between 5.3 million and 5.7 million foreign tourists
this year. (icn)