Foreign tourist arrivals rise

JAKARTA: The number of foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia rose 8.96 percent in March from a year earlier, following a 3.31 percent increase a month before, the statistics bureau said on Monday.

There were 806,118 tourists visiting Indonesia in March, compared with 768,118 in February, the bureau said.

The number of foreigners visiting the country, including those passing through Indonesian borders from neighbouring countries and foreign workers with permits for less than year, was 915,019, it said.

Indonesia´s government is keen to expand tourism to boost Southeast Asia´s largest economy.

It aims to attract 20 million foreign visitors a year by 2019. Last year, 9.73 million tourists came.

As part of efforts to expand the sector, the government plans to allow greater foreign ownership in tourism-related businesses.