Tanjungpinang, Riau Island Province (ANTARA News) - The Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) said that 55.71 pct of 133,620 foreign tourists visiting Riau Island Province in March 2011 came from Singapore.

The Singaporean tourists visiting Riau Islands (Kepri) reached 74,444, head of the Kepri BPS Mangaputua Gultom said here Monday.

The number of Singaporean tourists to the region in March 2011 increased by 13.18 pct compared to last year`s February.

The number of Malaysian tourists in March 2011 reached 18,935 , a 3.74 pct increase, while those visiting Kepri in March 2011 had a contribution of 14.17 pct.

South Korean tourists to Kepri reached 6.154, with a contribution of 4.61 pct of the total number of foreign tourists to the area at that time.

"The tourists from other countries to Kepri in March 2011 had a contribution of less than 3 pct, like those from China, India, Philippines, Japan, UK, US, and Australia," Gultom said.

He said the number of foreign tourists to Kepri in March 2011 reached 133,620, up by 2.37 pct compared to that in February 2011 reaching 130,531. Some 65.94 pct of foreign tourists arrived by way of Batam with a total of 87,776.

And compared to March 2010 the visit of foreign tourists increased by 6.04 pct.

The increase in the number of foreign tourists to Kepri in March 2011 was caused by the 11.15 pct increase in the number of foreign tourists in the two entries of Bintan regency and to Batam 1.69 pct.

"The contribution of the number of foreign tourists to Kepri against all the number of foreign tourists to Indonesia in March 2011 reached 22.34 pct, because the number of foreign tourists to Indonesia reached 598,068," he said. (*)

Editor: Kunto Wibisono
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