JAKARTA, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia recorded 4.02 million foreign tourist visits during 2020, a sharp drop of 75.03 percent compared to 16.11 million arrivals in the previous year, Indonesia's Central Agency of Statistics said on Monday.
According to the agency's Head Suhariyanto, the sharp drop occurred due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, which hurt the tourism sector and its supporting factors.
"This serious challenge would continue if the pandemic is not over. That's why we rely on domestic tourists," said Suhariyanto.
The agency noted that there were 164,088 foreign tourist visits in December 2020, an increase by 13.58 percent compared to that in November 2020, but decreased sharply by 88.08 percent compared to that in December 2019.
Suhariyanto explained that foreign tourists visiting Indonesia in December 2020 was not for travels, but businesses, assignments, or work visits to international institutions. Enditem
