Less S'poreans visit Batam

Less S'poreans visit Batam

BATAM, Riau: Most visitors to Batam island are still Singaporeans, but their numbers have continued declining over the past several years, a local official said yesterday.

But the number of tourists from South Korea and Taiwan have been on the rise since 1990, chief of the Batam tourism office Husni Ilyas said.

Husni said that in 1990, Singaporean tourists accounted for 71 percent of the island's tourist arrivals but declined to 57, 56 and 56 percent from 1991 through 1994 respectively.

A similar trend is happening with Malaysian visitors. Although their number remains significant, their proportion continues to decline, he told Antara.

Tourists from Taiwan rose from 92,000 in 1993 to 135,000 in 1994. Those from South Korea increased from 45,000 to 70,000 in the same year, Husni said. (pan)