Jakarta. The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported that the cumulative foreign tourist visits from January to November 2023 at 10.4 million visits, a 110.86 percent increase compared to the same period in 2022.

"However, the total foreign tourist visits until November 2023 are still lower than the same period in 2019 or before the pandemic. In that pre-pandemic period, from January to November, there were 14.73 million visits," Acting Head of BPS, Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti, said during a press conference at the BPS office on Tuesday.

BPS recorded the number of foreign tourist visits to Indonesia reached over 917,410 in November 2023, marking a 30.17 percent increase compared to the same month in 2022.

"Foreign tourist visits to Indonesia in November 2023 totaled 917,410 visits, reflecting a monthly decline of 6.24 percent. However, it still shows a remarkable 30.17 percent year-on-year increase," she said.

The entries were categorized into two groups: those through primary gateways, like airports, reaching a total of 805,260 visits, and those through border entries, amounting to 112,140 visits.

The majority of visits through main entrances were dominated by air transportation, contributing 80.34 percent. Meanwhile, visits via sea and land transportation accounted for 17.53 percent and 2.14 percent, respectively.

Foreign tourist visits through main entrances by air transportation in November 2023 reached 646,920, marking a 50.45 percent increase compared to November 2022. Ngurah Rai Airport in Bali and Soekarno Hatta Airport in Jakarta were the primary entry points for air transportation, contributing 89.23 percent or 577,260 visits.

Furthermore, foreign tourist visits through main entrances by sea transportation in November 2023 recorded 141,130 visits, up by 29.58 percent from November 2022.

"The ports of Batam and Tanjung Uban in the Riau Islands recorded the highest number of foreign tourist visits through sea transportation, contributing 82.74 percent or reaching 116,770 visits," she added.

For visits through main entrances by land transportation in November 2023, there were 17.21 thousand visits, a significant increase of 189.99 percent compared to November 2022 but a decrease of 26.88 percent compared to October 2023. Atambua in East Nusa Tenggara, Jayapura in Papua, and Entikong in West Kalimantan were noted as the main entry points for land transportation, contributing 85.84 percent or 14.78 thousand visits.

Amalia mentioned that the impact of foreign tourist visits affected the hotel occupancy rate in Indonesia in November 2023, reaching 56.72 percent, an increase of 2.31 points compared to November 2022.

Compared to October 2023, hotel occupancy in star-rated hotels in November 2023 increased by 3.70 points. Most provinces experienced an increase in hotel occupancy, with the highest increase recorded in the Riau Islands at 17.08 points, followed by Papua and Yogyakarta, rising by 12.16 points and 9.03 points, respectively.

"On the flip side, West Nusa Tenggara, West Sulawesi, and Bali experienced the deepest declines, decreasing by 5.59 points, 4.92 points, and 2.54 points," she said.