Japanese tourists top Bali tourist list

The Jakarta Post  | Tue, 02/10/2009 4:06 PM  

Japanese people topped the list of foreign tourists visiting Bali in 2008, with a total of 359,827 people from Japan, or approximately 18.06 percent of the total number of foreign tourists, visiting the resort island last year. 

The number of Japanese tourists visiting Bali in 2008 represented a 2.21 percent increase from 2007, Ida Komang Wisnu, head of the local statistics office, told the Antara news agency on Tuesday. 

Bali`s unique arts and culture as well as serene scenery were considered the chief attractions for Japanese tourists visiting the world-renowned island, he said. 

Trailing behind Japan with he second highest number of visitors was Australia, with 313,313 tourists, a jump of 52.68 percent from 2007's figure of 205,205. 

South Korea had the third highest number of visitors, with 134,909 tourists (6.77 percent), followed by China 131,909 (6.59 percent), Taiwan 130,449 (6.55 percent), Malaysia 129,727 (6.51 percent), the United Kingdom 82,827 (4.16 percent), Germany 82,686 (4.15 percent), France 77,379 (3.88 percent) and the United States 68,619 (3.44 percent). 

The data also shows that the number of foreign tourists visiting Bali in 2008 increased by 24.16 percent.