Tourist arrivals in December 2007 up 10 pct

The number of foreign tourists who entered Indonesia through the country`s 15 main gateways in December 2007 was 401,001 or 10.29 percent up from the figure in the same month in 2006, the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) said.

Compared to November 2007, the number had risen 7.86 percent, BPS Deputy Chief for Distribution and Service Statistics Ali Rosyidi said on Friday.

Cumulatively, the number of foreign tourists who came to Indonesia through the 15 main gateways last year reached 4,541,458, up 13.35 percent from the same period in 2006 when the figure was 4,006,525, he said.

Overall, 5.51 million foreign tourists visited Indonesia last year including those who entered the country through other gateways, or an increase of 13.02 percent from the year before, he said.

The figure matched the government-set target of 5.5 million for 2007.

Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik said in December 2007, the number of tourist arrivals last year hit a 10-month record high of 5.5 million.