Foreign tourists spending up 6%

Foreign tourists spending up 6%

JAKARTA (JP): Foreign tourist spending in Indonesia increased
6 percent to US$2.64 billion in the first half of this year,
compared to the same period in 1996, a minister said.

Tourist arrivals in the country through seven major gateways
in the January-June period of this year totaled 2,019,334, up 1.6
percent from those in the first half of last year, Minister of
Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave told House of
Representatives members in a hearing at his office here
yesterday.

"We expect to see between 5.3 million and 5.5 million
international visitors this year, up by between 5.2 percent and 9
percent from total figures in 1996," he said.

He said the government was optimistic about achieving the
projection as the number of foreign tourist arrivals was usually
higher in the second half.

The government originally targeted receiving between $7.2
billion and $7.8 billion from between 5.3 million and 5.7 million
overseas visitors in 1997.

Last year, the country received $5.13 billion in foreign
exchange spending from five million tourists.

"We should maintain our air accessibility, improve our tourist
promotion and marketing, diversify our tourist products and
improve the quantity and quality of tourist facilities and
infrastructure," he said. (icn)