Foreign Tourist Arrivals Increased by 5 Percent (YoY) in January 2019

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) released data showing that the number of foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia in January 2019 reached 1.15 million visits, a 5.22% increase year-on-year (YoY). However, this figure represents a 17.6% decrease compared to December 2018 due to seasonal factors following the year-end holidays.

The number of foreign tourist arrivals in January this year was the highest compared to January in previous years. For information, throughout last year, 15.8 million foreign tourists visited the archipelago.

The government targets 20 million foreign tourist arrivals in 2019. To achieve this target, the Ministry of Tourism has prepared three programs. First, *border tourism*, aiming to increase visits from neighboring countries. Second, *tourism hub*, attracting tourists already visiting neighboring countries. Third, *low-cost terminal*, developing Soekarno-Hatta Airport's Terminals I and II as low-cost terminals.