[Nasional-e] Glimmer of hope for Indonesian tourism

[Holy Uncle]

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TRAVEL/02/04/indonesia.tourism/index.html

Glimmer of hope for Indonesian tourism

JAKARTA, Indonesia --Indonesia's battered tourist industry has got a stroke 
of good news, with new government figures showing more visitors arriving 
following the Bali tragedy.

The Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday that overseas tourist arrivals 
recovered significantly in December, rising 17.6 percent from November.

In December 281,928 visitors came to Indonesia, from 239,774 in November.

The numbers are far better than many had predicted, even though they are 
still well shy of year-ago comparisons.

Tourists stayed away in droves following the October 12th bomb attacks in 
Bali that killed nearly 200 people, many of them Australian tourists.

Hotel occupancy rates at some Bali hotels fell into the single digits in the 
aftermath of the attack.

But the new figures show that Bali in particular is recovering as tourist 
arrivals in December were nearly double the lowest point in November.

Police have blamed the Bali attacks on radical Muslim militants and arrested 
more than 20 people over suspected links to the blasts.






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