Japanese tourist arrivals in Bali decline in 2011

The number of Japanese tourists visiting Bali during the period of January-November 2011 stood at 168,590, a 26.5-percent decline from the 229,295 visitors recorded in the same period in 2010.

"The decline in the number of Japanese tourists, who usually enjoy Bali’s unique arts and culture, is related to that country’s economic condition following the tsunami that hit Japan in March last year," Bali Central Statistics Agency (BPS) head I Gede Suarsa said on Saturday as quoted by Antara.

He estimated that overall in 2011, Japan would likely come in at third place in terms of the number of foreign tourist arrivals in Bali, after Australia and China.

Suarsa also said Japan contributed 6.6 percent of the total of 2.57 million tourist arrivals in Bali between January and November 2011. The total number of tourist arrivals increased by 9.6 percent from the 2.34 million recorded in the same period in 2010. (drs)