VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Data from the Central Bureau of Statistics shows that the number of foreign tourist arrivals to Indonesia in January 2018 decreased 6.17 percent compared to that of in January 2017, from 1.11 million visits to 1.04 million visits. If compared to December 2017, the number of foreign tourists visiting Indonesia decreased by 9.36 percent. Head of the Central Bureau of Statistics, Kecuk Suhariyanto, in a Press Briefing held Thursday, March 2, said, December is the peak tourist visit. Therefore, the decline from December to January is something reasonable. According to him, the decline in the number of foreign tourist arrivals compared to last year due to the decline of tourists in Bali. Tourist arrivals in Bali have declined since the eruption of the Agung mountain, but in January it is getting better.

"That the number of foreign tourists in Bali in January was higher than in December. That means there is a recovery. Because if we see December it is the second peak season. At Ngurah Rai there has been an increase from December to January so there has been a recovery of tourist numbers to Bali but not yet fully normal," Kecuk Suhariyanto said.

Suhariyanto further said, the number of foreign tourist arrivals coming through the air entrance in January 2018 decreased by 13.54 percent compared to the number of visits in the same month the previous year. The top five foreign tourists visiting Indonesia by country are Malaysia, Timor Leste, China, Australia and Singapore. (VOI/Sekar)