TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Statistics Indonesia or BPS recorded a total of 9,492,004 foreign tourists visiting the country between January to October 2023. Although the figure showed an increase from the previous year, it is still lower than that before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The number of [foreign tourist] visits this October increased by 124.30 percent compared to the number in the same period in 2022,” the BPS Deputy for Accounts and Statistical Analysis, Moh Edy Mahmud, said in a press conference monitored virtually on Friday, December 1.

In October 2022, the government recorded 5,889,031 foreigners entering the archipelago. Meanwhile, in the same period in 2020 and 2021, the numbers were 4,052,923 and 1,557,530, respectively.

“However, total number of foreign tourist visits up to October 2023 is still lower than the same period in 2019 or before the pandemic, when it reached 13.5 million,” Edy explained.

Edy noted that in October 2023, most foreign tourists came from Malaysia with 138,600 visits, a decrease of 8.94 percent compared to September 2023.

“The second-highest tourist arrivals were Australians reaching 129,000 visits,” Edy added.

This represents a decrease of 7.89% compared to September. Singapore had the third-highest number of foreign tourist visits, with 89,800 visits, representing a decrease of 21.74% compared to the previous month.

AMELIA RAHIMA SARI

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