In January 2022, the Omicron variant of Covid-19 was already spreading in many countries. However, during that month, the number of foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia increased dramatically compared to the previous year.
According to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), 14,555 foreign tourists visited Indonesia via air in January 2022. This figure is up 740.84% compared to January 2021, which saw only 1,731 arrivals.
The biggest increase in arrivals was at Soekarno-Hatta Airport, which recorded 14,073 foreign tourist arrivals in January 2022. This is a 1,036.75% increase from January 2021, which only saw 1,238 arrivals.
An increase also occurred at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport, with 16 arrivals in January 2022, up 60% from January 2021's 10 arrivals.
There were also 466 foreign tourists arriving via Sam Ratulangi Airport in January 2022, up 7.62% from 433 arrivals in January 2021.
Meanwhile, there were no recorded foreign tourist arrivals at other airports in January 2022, including Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport.
(See also: 1.56 Million Foreign Tourists Visited Indonesia in 2021, Most from Timor Leste)