Merely 945 foreign tourists had visited Central Java in March, dropping from 1,762 in the previous month, Central Java BPS Head Sentot Bangun Widoyono remarked here on Monday.
The data was recorded on the basis of foreign tourist arrivals through the province's main airports: Ahmad Yani Airport in Semarang and Adi Soemarmo Airport in Solo.
"This is the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. A travel ban has been in place since February, thereby limiting mobility," he remarked.
Widoyono pointed to most of the foreign tourists being Malaysian citizens.
"The number of visitors from China has declined sharply," he stated.
The decline in visitors has impacted the tourism sector, in general, as the occupancy rates at star-rated hotels also dropped in Central Java.
Widoyono explained that the average hotel occupancy rate in Central Java in March 2020 had reached 28.63 percent, plummeting from 46.36 percent in the previous month. Related news: Govt considers offering additional stimulus to bolster tourism sector
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Translator: Fardah Assegaf
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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