JAKARTA (TheInsiderStories) - The visit of Saudi Arabia King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to Jakarta and Bali is expected to boost Saudi tourist visits to Indonesia. So far, the total number of Saudi tourists visiting Indonesia is still low compared to other foreign tourists.
Data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) shows that Saudi tourist arrivals as of January 2017 reached 14,342 people, accounting for 1.39 percent of total foreign tourists in the month. Chinese tourists are still dominating with 200,019 people, followed by Singapore tourists (116,790 visits), Australia tourists (100,860 visits), and Malaysia tourists (97,370 visits).
“We hope King Salman’s visit promotes our tourism destinations. Now, Saudi tourists visiting Indonesia is still low, but we hope the visit will attract more Saudi tourists coming to Indonesia,” said BPS Head Suhariyanto onWednesday (Feb 1).
Although the number is still low, they are known as biggest spenders during the vacation. Suhariyanto predicted that Saudi visits will peak around a month before Ramadhan and Hajj season.
King Salman and his entourage of about 1,500 people are scheduled to fly to Bali from Jakarta on Saturday (Feb 4) for vacation purpose. The Tourism Ministry promotion in Jeddah, KSA, has been trying to lure more Saudi people to visit Indonesia.
Total foreign tourists arrival in January was recorded 1.03 million, increased 26.58 percent compared to the same month last year. Chinese tourists are accounted for 20.27 percent of total foreign tourist arrivals.
Ngurah Rai Airport in Bali becomes foreign tourists main gate to Indonesia, with 452,660 arrivals in January 2017, followed by Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Jakarta with 189,242 arrivals.
Separately, Tourism Minister Arif Yahya said the number Saudi tourists in Indonesia is increasing every year. Last year, Saudi tourists were recorded at 240,000, up 30 percent from previous year of 180,000. In 2017, the government set target of 360,000, higher 50 percent than last year.
“King Salman is prominent and respected figure in the Middle East. Beside, the news about King Salman’s vacation in Bali will also boost Indonesia’s tourism image in world,” Arif stated.
The government expects to attract 15 million foreign tourist arrivals in 2017, higher than 12 million expected for last year. Since August 2015, Indonesia also has waived visa requirement for tourist from 169 countries. (RF)