Indonesia`s November tourist arrivals up 8.6 pct
January 4th, 2008
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The number of foreign tourists visiting Indonesia rose 8.6 percent in November from the same period in 2006, government data showed on Wednesday, helped by a surge in visitors to the resort island of Bali.
The number of foreign tourists in Indonesia was 398,983 in November, bringing total arrivals in the first 11 months of 2007 to 4.11 million people, up 13.67 percent from around 3.62 million a year ago, the statistics’ bureau was quoted by Reuters as saying.
Tourists have started to flock back to Bali after staying away from the predominantly Hindu island following suicide bombings by Islamic militants in 2005 and 2002.
Tourism in the island was also boosted by the U.N. climate change conference in December.
“Some NGO (non-government organisation) members and delegations from some countries came earlier in November preparing for the conference,” said Djinaldi Gosana, head of
Bali Hotel Association.
“I expect the figure to keep increasing this year. More events and festivals are coming up. For example in June and July there will be a Bali Art Festival.”
Tourist arrivals in Bali, which accounts for more than 40 percent of Indonesia’s total foreign arrivals, rose 24.4 percent to 153,037 in November 2007 from the same period in 2006.
The government estimates some 6 million foreign tourists visited in Indonesia in 2007, up 25 percent from a year earlier. Tourism is expected to have contributed around $5.5 billion to foreign exchange earnings last year, up from $4.5 billion in 2006.
The vast tropical nation has a wide array of tourist attractions ranging from rainforests to beaches, volcanoes and ancient temples.
But the tourism industry, which accounts for around 5 percent of Indonesia’s gross domestic product, has also been hit by a string of disasters in recent years including tsunamis, fatal outbreaks of bird flu. (*)
Source: ANTARA News
Entry Filed under: World Tourism News
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