"The increase was encouraging as the number is expected to continue to increase not only to this region but also to other parts of the country," chairman of the North Sumatra branch of the Indonesian association of travel operators (Asita) Solahuddin Nasution said here on Sunday.
The growing number of tourists from China has prompted Asita to support plan of China Southern Airlines to open direct flight between Guangzhou-Kualanamu of North Sumatra this year, Solahuddin said.
North Sumatra has many potential tourism objects to be visited by Chinese tourists, he said.
He said it is also encouraging to note that the number of tourists from other countries visiting the province also grew.
Head of the North Sumatra office of the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) Wien Kusdiatmono said the number of foreign tourists visiting North Sumatra rose 22.63 percent to 44,652 in the first two months of this year from 36,412 in the same period last year.
The increase was partly attributable to the growing number of visitors from China, he said.
(H-ASG/S012)
Editor: Jafar M Sidik
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