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)