DENPASAR ~ Tourists are flocking Bali in droves, helping boost the overall number of foreign visitors to Indonesia so far this year by nearly 15 percent, new government data show.

Arrivals increased to 382,461 in September, up 13.9 percent from a year ago, taking the total number of foreign tourist arrivals in the first nine months to 3.36 million, up from 2.96 million a year ago, according to data from the Central Statistics Bureau.

Tourist arrivals in Bali rose to 159,610 in September, up 28.2 percent from a year ago, taking the total number of foreign tourist arrivals to the resort island for the first nine months to 1.29 million, up from 962,211 in the same period a year ago.

The central government expects foreign tourist arrivals to increase by 25 percent to 6 million this year, bringing in around $5.5 billion in foreign exchange earnings, up 22 percent from a year ago.

Indonesia boasts a wide array of tourist attractions, ranging from beaches and volcanoes to ancient temples and exotic culture. (Reuters/BT)