FOREIGN TOURIST ARRIVALS IN RI UP TWO PERCENT

Bandung, West Java, March 27 (ANTARA) - The number of foreign tourists visiting Indonesia in January 2010 went up two percent from that in January 2009.

"According to data that we have obtained from the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS), there is two percent increase in the number of foreign tourists in January," Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik said here on Saturday after attending a graduation ceremony at Tourism Institute (STP).

Indonesia has set a target of receiving seven million tourists in 2010, according to the minister.

"Indeed, we have increased the target to seven percent in 2010 from 6.4 percent in 2009," he said.

Indonesia was one of Asian and the Pacific countries which have enjoyed positive growth in the tourism sector, he said. South Korea and Malaysia have also recorded positive growth in the tourism industry, he said.

He was optimistic that the target could be achieved if the number of foreign tourists visiting Indonesia would increase every month.

Indonesia receives foreign tourists among others from Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, China, Taiwan, South Korea, the United States and European countries.