Published on : Saturday, February 2, 2019
International tourist arrivals reached 15.8 million in 2018, 13 per cent more than a year earlier, Indonesia’s statistics bureau said on Friday. More than 2.5 million Malaysians visited the archipelago in 2018, while the Chinese came second at 2.14 million, data showed. But the country missed its target to draw 17 million visitors after it was struck by multiple earthquakes and tsunamis.
President Joko Widodo have been aggressively promoting tourism as he bets the sector can emerge as a top source for foreign exchange for a government that’s struggling to contain a widening current-account deficit.
According to Tourism Minister Arief Yahya, the government is targeting 20 million foreign tourists this year and forex earnings of about US$20 billion (625 billion rupayiah).
Tags: indonesia