Indonesia's March tourist arrivals up 1.9 pct from yr ago

Indonesia's foreign tourist arrivals rose just 1.9 percent in March from a year ago, data showed on Friday, as a global economic slowdown curbed foreign travel.

In March, 511,314 foreign tourists visited Indonesia, up from 502,000 a year ago, while in the first quarter the number was almost unchanged at 1.41 million.
The government hopes to attract 7 million foreign tourists to visit Indonesia this year, up from 6.32 million in 2008.

"The global economic crisis and tight competition between tourist destinations has prevented a higher number of foreign tourists," said Carla Parengkuan, executive director of the Indonesian Hotels Association.