As many as 2.89 million Indonesians visited Singapore throughout 2016, contributing the highest figure of around 17.7 per cent to its total foreign tourist arrivals of 16.4 million, according to a statement released by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).
The statement said last year’s figure for Indonesians had increased 6 per cent, as compared to a 10 per cent decline in 2015.
STB director for Indonesia Raymond Lim said during a media gathering in Jakarta on Tuesday that his side would continue to carry out efforts to lure more Indonesians to visit Singapore.
“We really hope that we can maintain what we had last year. We have to maintain not just in numbers but we want to make sure Indonesia remains our number one market,” he said, adding that around 30 per cent of Indonesian tourists visited Singapore for business.
He said the board would hold road shows to Palembang, South Sumatra, and to Medan, North Sumatra, in March and April for promotion. The road shows would continue to Bali and Sulawesi in August and September to attract tourists from the eastern part of Indonesia.
Lim said Singapore was expecting around 16.4 to 16.7 million foreign tourists in 2017, with total tourism revenue of around S$25 to S$25.8 billion.
