Tourist arrivals drop in Batam, Bali

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)