DENPASAR ~

A total of 3,122,893 million foreign tourists visited Bali province during the period of January to October 2014, increasing by 16.86 percent from those in the same period last year, the province’s Tourism Office data showed.

Based on the data, Bali received an average of 310,000 foreign tourists every month.

Local tourism observer Tjok Gede Agung said foreign tourists visiting Bali had been increasing during the past years and was expected to increase more in the future as Indonesia implements visa-free policy for tourists from some countries such as the ASEAN countries.

Indonesia targets to receive 9.5 million foreign tourists in 2014. The tourism ministry hopes to attract at least 3.5 million tourists from ASEAN, including 1.75 million from Singapore, 1.4 million from Malaysia, and 315,000 from the Philippines.

Last year, Singapore was the biggest source of tourist arrivals in Indonesia, followed by Malaysia, Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, the United States and Britain.

In addition to Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Japan and South Korea, China is now one of the main markets for Indonesian tourism.

Data from the Indonesian Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) showed the number of Chinese tourists visiting Indonesia in the first eight months of last year rose 25.54 percent to 412,698 over the same period in the previous year.