Jakarta greets foreign tourist

JAKARTA: In conjunction with Jakarta's 478th anniversary, the City Tourism Agency has revived its "welcome program", greeting both domestic and foreign tourists arriving at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

The "welcome" includes handing out garlands and souvenirs to arriving tourists, tourism agency head Harianto Badjuri said on Wednesday.

"We want to show our appreciation to tourists who choose Jakarta as their holiday destination," he said.

He said that in the last three years, the total number of tourists visiting Jakarta had been on the increase.

Last year, some 1.06 million tourists arrived in the city, up from 980,351 in 2003.

From January to May this year, 364,793 tourists visited the capital and more are expected during the peak season in July and August. -- JP