TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – The Central Statistics Agency of Indonesia or BPS recorded that foreign tourist visits from January to May 2024 reached 5.2 million people. Acting Chief Secretary of the BPS, Machdi, said the figure reflected an increase of 23.78 percent compared to the same period last year.
“This is the highest level in the last four years since 2020,” he said in Jakarta on Monday (July 1).
On a monthly basis, the number of visits by foreigners increased by 7.36%. In May, this figure reached 1.1 million people, of whom 987,000 arrived through the main entrance, while 157,000 entered through the borders.
In May 2024, most of the tourists were Malaysians, with visits from the neighbouring country increasing by 17.24% on a monthly basis. The second largest tourist group was Australians, with an increase of 7.21% on a monthly basis. In terms of average length of stay, foreign tourists, including cross-border commuters, spend about 7.51 nights in Indonesia.
According to Imam, most tourists arrived through Bali’s Ngurah Rai Airport, with a total of 544,400 people. The second largest entry point was Soekarno-Hatta Airport, with 201,500 people, followed by Batam with 78,600, Juanda Airport in Surabaya with 31,200 and Kualanamu with 20,400.
On the same occasion, Habibullah, deputy of the BPS for production statistics, said the increase in the number of foreign tourists to Indonesia in May was largely due to international holidays such as Vesak. In addition, the slightly weaker rupiah exchange rate also attracted some visitors, especially from countries with higher exchange rates.
ILONA ESTHERINA
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