RI still popular among Japanese

RI still popular among Japanese

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia was one of the top 10 destination
countries for Japanese tourists in 2000 despite the social and
political issues still clouding the country.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism reported on Wednesday that
Indonesia ranked 10th in the Top Ten Destinations from 30
destination countries monitored by Travel Journal International,
a Japanese journal focusing on international travel for Japanese
nationals.

This was an improvement from the 12th rank achieved the
previous year, the ministry said in a statement.

Some 444,113 Japanese tourists visited Indonesia last year,
compared to 369,323 in 1999, the journal said, explaining that
Bali remained the main attraction for tourists entering the
country.

The ministry said that among member countries of the
Association of South East Asian nations (ASEAN), Indonesia ranked
third after Thailand and Singapore.

Last year total Japanese outbound travelers reached an all-
time high of 17.81 million people, a majority of which were
between the age of 50 and 54. (tnt)