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Manado outshines major tourist destinations
Manado has once again outshone major tourist destinations in terms of increases in foreign visitor arrivals as the latest data shows the city saw a significant boost in February
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Manado has once again outshone major tourist destinations in terms of increases in foreign visitor arrivals as the latest data shows the city saw a significant boost in February.
According to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), Sam Ratulangi International Airport in Manado, North Sulawesi, welcomed 5,119 foreign visitors in February.
The figure was much smaller than those recorded at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar, Bali, and Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten.
However, Manado has consistently posted the highest growth rate among all destinations for the past four months.
In February, the number of foreign visitor arrivals grew more than threefold on an annual basis. Combined with January data, the figure represents an almost sixfold surge to 12,793 compared to a year beforehand.
The government predicts that Manado will continue to win the hearts of foreign visitors and claim a place among the nation’s popular destinations.
“We predict that Manado will become a hot destination like Bali,” Tourism Ministry assistant deputy for Asia Pacific market development Vinsensius Jemadu said earlier.
The development in Manado has caught the attention of major airlines as well, which have begun offering flights to the North Sulawesi capital.
Low-cost carriers PT Lion Mentari Airlines or Lion Air and PT Citilink Indonesia — the subsidiary of national flag carrier PT Garuda Indonesia — started expanding their operations several months ago to include flights to and from China.
Chinese visitors have indeed been the major force behind the uptick in foreign tourist arrivals in Manado.
Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) chairman Hariyadi Sukamdani said Chinese tourists enjoyed the Bunaken Marine Park in Manado and the resorts in the surrounding area.
He likened the tourism development in Manado to the earlier development of Bandung in West Java that attracted Malaysian tourists.
“But the government should develop a program for Manado tourism because it was absent in the development of Bandung. The regional administration head is the one most responsible for this,” he said on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, data from BPS reveals that Husein Sastranegara International Airport in Bandung came in second in terms of growth rate in February. It welcomed 13,221 foreign visitors, rising by more than half from the same period in 2016.
Another positive development was also recorded by Adi Sumarmo International Airport in Surakarta, Central Java. On a monthly basis, the airport posted a sevenfold increase to 520 foreign visitors in February.
BPS finance, information technology and tourism statistic director Titi Kanti Lestari attributed the surge to the direct flights between Surakarta and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, offered by low-cost carriers Lion Air and PT Indonesia AirAsia.
The Association of Air Ticketing Companies in Indonesia (Astindo) credited the annual Solo Great Sale — a shopping event in February that is promoted in other ASEAN countries — as one of the reasons behind the higher number of foreign tourist arrivals. (yon)
