OVER 100 THOUSAND INDONESIANS VISIT AUSTRALIA IN 2009

Jakarta, Dec 10 (ANTARA) - The number of Indonesians arriving in Australia has surpassed 100,000 for the year ended September 2009, official statistics show.

This is the first time in the last 10 years the Australian Bureau of Statistics has recorded 100,000 Indonesian arrivals in Australia over a 12-month period, according to a media release from the Australian Embassy here on Thursday.

Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Bill Farmer, warmly welcomed the increase and encouraged more visitor exchanges between the two countries. He noted that so far this year, more than 400,000 Australians had visited Indonesia - the highest number on record.

"I am pleased to see the people-to-people links continue to grow stronger, and more Indonesians are taking the opportunity to experience Australia first-hand," Farmer said.

The month of September alone saw a 55-percent increase in Indonesian arrivals in Australia - some 16,400 Indonesians -compared with the previous year, recognising some of this increase was attributable to the Lebaran holidays.

The growth in the number of Indonesian tourists is likely to continue with significant numbers of tourist visa applications being received by the Embassy daily in the lead up to the Christmas and New Year period.

This year also marked the launch of the new work and holiday visa arrangement which allows university-educated Indonesian and Australian travellers aged between 18 and 30 to work and holiday in each other's country for up to 12 months.

In the first year of the program, one hundred young Indonesians and Australians are eligible to receive work and holiday visas.