Jakarta – Statistics Indonesia (BPS) recorded that the number of tourists who arrived in Indonesia on airplanes was 713,881 in May, a decline of 11.37 percent year-on-year (yoy).
The BPS showed a decline in tourist arrivals was recorded at almost all airports across the country, with the sharpest decline of 45.52 percent occurring at the Husein Sastranegara International Airport in Bandung, West Java.
An increase of tourist arrivals by airlines only occurred at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar Bali, which was up by 2.02 percent.
Meanwhile, total tourist arrivals in May was recorded at 1.26 million, 3.19 percent lower than the figure in April, but 1.1 percent up from the arrivals in May 2018, according to the BPS.
The number of tourist arrivals by sea was 337,409, while 205,035 arrived through land border checkpoints.
The BPS recorded that the number of arrivals by sea increased 46.62 percent in May, with the highest increase of 75.4 percent occurring at Tanjung Uban Port on Riau Island, while the sharpest decline of 98.34 percent occurred at Tanjung Benoa Port on Bali.
BPS head Suhariyanto said the total tourist arrivals from January to May was 6.37 million, a growth of only 2.7 percent yoy.
Malaysia was still the largest contributor to tourist arrivals in Indonesia with 1.3 million, followed by China with 882,900, Singapore with 739,700, Timor Leste with 506,300 and Australia with 483,900. (bbn)