VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Sam Ratulangi International Airport - 

The number of international tourists arriving in North Sulawesi via Sam Ratulangi Airport in February 2022 stood at 647, or up 38.84 percent compared to 466 in January, an official informed.

"The increase in foreign tourist arrivals occurred due to the easing of restrictions for tourists to enter and leave North Sulawesi," head of the Statistics Indonesia (BPS) Office in North Sulawesi, Asim Saputra, said here on Friday.

International tourists arriving in North Sulawesi were still dominated by Chinese tourists, with their number pegged at 401, accounting for 61.98 percent of the total tourist arrivals in North Sulawesi, he informed.

They were followed by 79 foreign tourists from Russia, or 12.21 percent of the total arrivals; 32 tourists from the US (4.95 percent); and 28 tourists from France (4.33 percent), he added.

With the development, the North Sulawesi government is quite optimistic that international tourist visits to North Sulawesi will revive, he noted.

Especially because Sam Ratulangi Airport has implemented the visa-free facility for tourists from a number of countries, he added.

As of February 2022, the cumulative number of tourist arrivals in North Sulawesi stood at 1,113. The figure showed a decline compared to 1,460 tourist arrivals recorded in February 2021.

General manager of Sam Ratulangi Airport, Minggus Gandeguai, confirmed that the airport had been chosen as one of the airports for implementing the visa-free policy for international tourists.

Gandeguai said the regulation is stipulated in the latest circular issued by the Ministry of Law and Human Rights Number: IMI 0459.GR.01.01 of 2022 concerning immigration facilities in order to support sustainable tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic, which came into effect on April 6, 2022//ANT