Tourist arrivals drop in Batam, Bali

JAKARTA (JP): The number of foreign tourists arriving in Batam Island, one of Indonesia's seven entry points for travelers, dropped by 2.37 percent in October to 80,659 people, compared to 82,577 for the same time last year.

Data from the Ministry of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications shows that last month's tally is 4.46 percent lower than the 84,266 tourists recorded in September.

Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave said last week that the decrease had also affected Bali, the country's most popular tourist destination.

He said foreign tourist arrivals in Bali fell 10 percent in October, the biggest drop so far.

The director general of tourism, Andi Mappi Sammeng, said that the total for international tourist arrivals in Indonesia was about 4 million for the first 10 months of this year, up by at least 3 percent from the same period last year.

But the growth rate was less than the 4 percent recorded in the first 10 months of 1996.

Andi said that it was unlikely the target for foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia -- of between 5.3 million and 5.7 million for this year -- could be reached.

"The growth rate must reach at least 5 percent to meet this year's target of 5.3 million foreign visitors. International tourist arrivals are up only 3.7 percent for the first nine months of this year."

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

Andi said that the main cause of the slower growth rate this year was the widely publicized reports on haze in Indonesia.

Haze from forest fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra has become a serious threat to Indonesia's tourist industry because of extensive international reporting on the situation.

The fires have caused serious haze problems not only in Sumatra and Kalimantan but also in Malaysia and Singapore.

Scores of overseas travelers and tour groups have canceled trips to Indonesia because of the haze problem. (icn)