JAKARTA (Antara): The number of foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia in the first semester 2007 has increased 12.2 percent compared to the figure for a corresponding period in 2006, a tourism ministry official said.
During the first six months of 2007 Indonesia was visited by 2,143,000 foreign tourists or 12.2 percent more than that of the same period in 2006 when the number was 1,909,600, Thamrin B Bachri, director of marketing at the Tourism and Culture Ministry, said Friday.
Among the foreign visitors, 58.75 percent came from India, 46.85 percent from South Korea and 34.70 percent from China and Hong Kong, Thamrin said.
He added that in June 2007 the number of foreign tourist arrivals was 411,200, topping the figures for the same months in the previous three years.
Considering the increased number of foreign tourist during the first semester, Thamrin said, there was reason for the government to be optimistic on achieving its target of attracting six million foreign tourists in 2007.
However, he cited the problem of lacking the marketing and promotion fund at the ministry.
"We have a program to accelerate the foreign tourist flow but still lack the funds. We have access to Rp 150 billion (US$16.6 million) but need some Rp450 billion more to achieve the arrival target," he said.
Indonesia is expecting to generate some US$5.4 billion from the six million tourists targeted to visit the country. (**)
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