Official data shows tourism recovering faster than expected

Official data shows tourism recovering faster than expected

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) disclosed on Monday
tourist arrival statistics, which indicate that tourism is
recovering faster than many had anticipated following the Oct. 12
Bali bombings.

BPS said the terrorist attacks had dealt a severe blow to the
tourist sector as the number of foreign tourist arrivals fell by
2.33 percent in 2002 to 5.03 million compared to 5.15 million in
2001.

But the bureau added that only a month and a half after the
bombings, foreign tourists had started returning to Bali, the
country's main tourist destination.

BPS said that foreign tourist arrivals on the famous resort
island jumped by 93 percent in December to 68,100 from 35,100 in
November.

"There has been real progress in the country's tourist
industry as indicated by the figures," said Soedarti Surbakti,
BPS chairwoman.

She explained that aside from the fact that December was
traditionally peak season for the industry, efforts taken by
relevant parties to save the sector, such as price cutting
measures, had contributed to the surge.

BPS said the number of foreign tourist arrivals nationwide in
December increased by 17.58 percent to 281,928 from 239,774 in
November.

However, Soedarti said it was too early to pronounce the
industry recovered from the terrorist attack.

She said that although there was an increase in tourist
arrivals during the last month of 2002, the tourist arrival
figure was still 7.15 percent lower than the same period in 2001.

But she acknowledged that recovery in the tourist sector was
on the right track.

The terrorist attack on Bali, which claimed nearly 200 lives,
dealt a severe blow to Indonesia's tourist sector, which on
average contributes US$5 billion to the economy per year.

The attack created a bleak forecast for the country's already
dwindling economy as tourism is one of the main drivers of the
country's economic growth. The industry is still considered the
second largest non-oil and gas foreign exchange earner after the
textile and garment industry.

The BPS report also said that foreign exchange earnings from
tourism had taken a nose-dive from US$5.4 billion in 2001 to $4.3
billion in 2002.

Before the bombings, the government targeted tourist arrivals
at 5.4 million for 2002, while foreign exchange earnings from the
industry were estimated at $5.68 billion.

The BPS figure is relatively modest compared to the much
bleaker picture painted by many in the wake of the Bali bombings.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism had projected tourist
arrivals to plunge by 16.5 percent to 4.3 million in 2002 from
the level in 2001.