Indonesia's foreign tourist arrivals up in January
March 1, 2010 11:58 pm
JAKARTA, March 1 — The number of foreign tourists coming into Indonesia in January this year rose by 4.20 percent to 493,200 people, compared to the same period last year, the National Statistic Agency reported here on Monday.
The number of the tourists coming into Bali, the center of Indonesia's tourist industry, was up by 2.55 percent to 178,400 people, head of the agency Rusman Heriawan said.
Indonesia has targeted seve7 million foreign tourist arrivals this year, higher that that of at 2009 of 6.32 million people.
The country's Tourism and Culture Minister Jero Wacik said on Feb.18 that the government targeted more revenue received from the tourist spending this year which could exceed 6.5 billion U.S. dollars due to the improving of global economy. In 2009, the revenue from the sector was 6.3 billion U.S. dollars.
The Southeast Asia largest economy forecast to register 5.5 economic growth this year after growing by 4.5 percent last year.
Indonesia's leading carrier of Garuda planned to flight to Amsterdam in June, which may also contribute on the rise of foreign tourist arrivals in the country, Wacik said.
Tourism accounts for about 3 percent of Indonesia's gross domestic product, however some areas, including Bali, are heavily rely on the sector for jobs and economic growth. (PNA/Xinhua)
DCT/utb
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