Tourist Arrivals in East Java Down 13.44 Percent in July

Surabaya, E Java (Antara) - A total of 16,174 foreign tourists had visited East Java via Juanda International Airport, Surabaya, in July, down 13.44 percent from 18,685 in June. "In July 2014, the number of Malaysian tourists had reached 2,309, declining 23.52 percent (from a month earlier)," Head of the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) office in East Java M Sairi Hasbullah stated here on Tuesday. The figure has made Malaysia the largest source of tourists in the province. Singapore came in second with 1,141 tourists, a 56.98 percent drop compared with the previous month, he noted. The number of Chinese tourists, meanwhile, fell 9.34 percent to 971 from a month earlier, he said. He attributed the decline to the fasting month of Ramadhan this year, which had lasted from June 29 to July 27. Cumulatively, the number of tourists in the first seven months of this year had reached 126,425. "The figure represents a 0.90 percent increase compared to 125,297 in the same period last year," he said. He added that the occupancy rate of star-rated hotels in East Java had also declined 6.89 points to 45.88 percent in July from 52.77 percent in June. (*)