JAKARTA — Malaysians remained the largest group of foreign tourists visiting Indonesia in July, making up 15 per cent of the 1.53 million international arrivals recorded during the month, according to Statistics Indonesia (BPS).
BPS Deputy for Distribution and Services Statistics Ateng Hartono said 228,710 Malaysian tourists visited Indonesia in July, placing them ahead of visitors from Australia and China, as reported by Bernama.
Australia recorded 188,250 arrivals, accounting for 12.34 per cent of the total, while Chinese visitors made up 156,750 arrivals or 10.28 per cent.
Ateng said tourist arrivals from Australia and China increased compared with the previous month, while arrivals from Malaysia declined.
"On a monthly basis, foreign tourist arrivals among Australian and Chinese passport holders recorded increases, while arrivals among Malaysian passport holders declined.
"However, on a year-on-year (YoY) basis, foreign tourist arrivals increased among Malaysian, Australian and Chinese passport holders," he said during a press conference streamed live on September 1.
BPS data showed that Malaysian tourist arrivals nevertheless increased 7.83 per cent year-on-year in July, despite falling 11.59 per cent from the figure recorded in June.
Ateng added that Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport remained the country’s main gateway for foreign tourists, recording 697,800 international arrivals in July.
Australian tourists made up the largest group of foreign visitors entering Indonesia through the airport during the month.
