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THE NUMBER of foreign tourist visits to North Sumatra reached 17,612 people in July 2023, or an increase of 5.67% compared to June 2023. The increase in the number of foreign tourist visits to the province has generally been seen since the beginning of 2023. On an annual basis, the percentage increase is 134.26 %.
“Therefore, it is important for us to continue to improve the quality and attractiveness of tourist destinations,” said Head of the North Sumatra Central Statistics Agency (BPS), Nurul Hasanudin, on Sunday (9/03), 2023.
The increase in the number of foreign tourist visits to North Sumatra since January 2023 is said to show that the tourism climate in the province is improving. In detail, in January 2023 there were 14,195 foreign tourists visiting, then in February 2023 it increased to 15,241 foreign tourists, then in March 2023 there were 16,196 foreign tourists.
However, in April 2023 the number decreased slightly to 16,151 foreign tourists, then in June 2023 it increased to 16,667 foreign tourists.
However, Nurul said, the total number of foreign tourists visiting North Sumatra in July 2023 is considered to be still much smaller compared to the number of foreign tourists visiting Indonesia which reached 1.122 million people.
“This means that the number of foreign tourists visiting North Sumatra in July 2023 will still be 1.5 percent of the national number. This means that the quality of North Sumatra tourism needs to be improved. At least, we should be able to bring in five percent of that total,” he explained.
The greatest number of foreign tourists from Malaysia visited North Sumatra in July 2023, namely 6,577 people, or 37.34% of the total. Below Malaysia there are foreign tourists from the Netherlands with 1,755 people or 9.96%, foreign tourists from Singapore with 744 people or 4.33%, foreign tourists from France with 640 people or 3.63%, and foreign tourists from Germany with 590 people or 3. 35%.
Nevertheless, the increase in the number of foreign tourist visits in July 2023 was not directly proportional to the hotel occupancy rate (TPK). In July 2023, the TPK for star hotels in the province decreased by 0.16 points compared to June 2023. Meanwhile, the ROR for non-star hotels in the same month also decreased by 0.55 points on a monthly basis and was 4.61 points lower compared to July 2022. [antaranews/photo special]
