"The stagnant number of tourist arrivals is an annual cycle. Normally, it booms again in June and July which constitute high season. It drops in August but moves up again in September. May is the last month of low season," BPS Chief Rusman Heriawan said here on Friday.
The number of tourist arrivals in May 2011 rose slightly by 0.03 percent year-on-year compared to the same month last year when it reached 600 thousand, he said.
He said the number of foreign tourists visiting the country via Ngurah Rai Airport in Bali dropped 6.95 percent to 208.8 thousand in May from 224.4 thousand in April.
"But the number of tourist arrivals in May 2011 rose 4.73 percent to 208.8 thousand from 199.4 thousand in May 2010," he said.
The number of tourist arrivals via Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Jakarta fell drastically by 17.91 percent to 150.4 thousand in May 2011 from 183.2 thousand in the same month last year, he said.
"The number of tourist arrivals via Sam Ratulangi Airport also declined 10.36 percent, Tanjung Uban Airport 3.27 percent and Adi Sucipto Airport 1,24 percent," he said.
Cumulatively, the number of tourists visiting Indonesia in the five months through May 2011 reached 2.92 million, a 5.64 percent increase compared to 2.76 million in the same period last year, he said.
Rusman said foreign and domestic tourists` length of stay at star-rated hotels in 20 of the country`s 33 provinces in May 2011 averaged 1.96 days, up 0.06 percent from May 2010.
The occupancy rate of star-rated hotels in the 20 provinces in May 2011 averaged 52.13 percent, up 1.11 points from 51.02 percent in May 2010, he said.
(Uu.S012/HAJM)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
