The number of foreign tourist visits increased by 13.62 percent in January 2022 compared to the year-ago period to reach 143,740, Statistics Indonesia (BPS) reported.

“However, the number declined by 12.15 percent compared to the number of foreign tourist visits in December 2021,” deputy for distribution and service statistics at BPS, Setianto, informed at a virtual press conference here on Tuesday.

In January 2022, 14,560 foreign visitors arrived by aircraft, 34,800 by ship, and 94,390 by land, he said.

The number of foreign tourist visitors using air routes surged by 740.84 percent yoy in January this year, he added.

A significant increase was recorded in foreign tourist arrivals at Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Tangerang city, Banten province, he said. The number of visits jumped by 1,036.75 percent from 1,238 visits in January 2021 to 14,073 visits in January 2022, he added.

The increase in the number of foreign visitors at Halim Perdana Kusuma Airport, Jakarta, and Sam Ratulangi Airport, Manado city, North Sulawesi province, was pegged at 60 percent and 7.62 percent, respectively, Setianto said.

Meanwhile, no foreign tourist arrivals were recorded at other airports in January 2022, he added.

However, the total number of foreign tourists arriving by air fell 18.17 percent compared to December 2021, he said.

Based on the nationality, the number of visitors from Africa and Europe in January 2022 experienced a significant increase of 305.97 percent and 239.70 percent yoy, respectively, he added.

Meanwhile, the number of travelers from Southeast Asian countries fell by 4.22 percent yoy, he said.

The visits were dominated by East Timorese tourists (76.5 thousand visits or 53.22 percent), Malaysian tourists (42 thousand visits or 29.21 percent), Chinese tourists (3.4 thousand visits or 2.36 percent), Papua New Guinean tourists (3 thousand visits or 2.10 percent), and American tourists (1.8 thousand visits or 1.22 percent), he added.

Source:  Antara News