"The number of international tourist arrivals in March 2022 increased impressively as compared to March 2021. Meanwhile, if compared to February 2022, the increase was 121.02 percent," head of BPS, Margo Yuwono, informed at a press conference here on Monday.
Of the foreign tourists arriving in March, 39,060 took air transportation, 1,409 used sea transportation, and 319 land transportation.
The number of foreign tourists arriving by air transportation via the main entry points in March this year swelled by 203.94 percent compared to March 2021.
At Ngurah Rai Airport, Bali, the number of international tourist arrivals jumped by a significant 487,133.33 percent—from just 3 arrivals to 14,617 arrivals.
The number of foreign tourist arrivals increased by 500 percent at Lombok Airport, West Nusa Tenggara, and 128.90 percent at Soekarno Hatta, Banten.
Meanwhile, the lowest increase of 9.62 percent was recorded at Juanda Airport.
Overall, the number of foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia through the main entry points from January to March 2022 reached 74.38 thousand, an increase of 228.24 percent compared to the corresponding period of 2021.
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Of the foreign tourists arriving in the January–March period, 71,450 used air transportation, 2,153 took sea transportation, and 779 land transportation.
According to Yuwono, the number of foreign tourists arriving in January–March this year was relatively high. However, when compared to 3 million arrivals during the same period in the previous years, the figure is still lower.
"This is a challenge for us all because foreign tourist arrivals have a big multiplier effect. If the tourism sector recovers, it will accelerate economic recovery in Indonesia," the BPS head remarked.
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Translator: Sella Panduarsa, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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