Tourist arrivals up 5% in 1997

Jakarta (JP): Foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia rose by 5.04 percent last year to 5.03 million visitors, below the pessimistic target of 5.3 million.

Data from the Ministry of Tourism, Post and Telecommunication shows the country's foreign exchange earnings from tourism rose to US$6.62 million from $6.3 billion in 1996.

Minister Joop Ave contributed the small increase to the decline in tourist arrivals during the last months of 1997 compared with the same period for 1996.

"With all the obstacles toward the end of last year, foreign visitors to the country fell toward the end of last year," Joop told a hearing Friday at the House of the Representatives.

He said natural disasters and a plane crash, as well as the monetary crisis which hit the Southeast Asian region contributed to the decrease.

Last year, tourist industries experienced declines as the result of a choking smog, caused by severe forest fires blanketing Indonesia's Sumatra and Kalimantan provinces and other parts of Southeast Asia.

In September, an Airbus A-300 owned by the state-owned Garuda Indonesia en route to Medan in North Sumatra from Jakarta crashed shortly before landing, killing all 234 passengers on board. Poor visibility caused by the haze was suspected to be the cause.

The currency crisis plaguing the region has slashed the values of the economies in the Asian region, including that of Thailand, South Korea and Malaysia. Asian tourists made up most of the country's foreign visitors.

Joop said the targeted foreign exchange revenues from tourism of between $7.2 billion and $7.8 billion last year could not be reached.

The targeted days of tourists' staying was 11 days but last year, the average stay was 10.6 days he said.

The average spending per day per visitor was $123.25 last year, slightly below the targeted $125 per day.

Joop said his ministry had targeted that foreign tourist arrivals should rise by 19 percent this year to between 6 million and 6.5 million people. (das)