Pangkalpinang, Bangka Belitung (ANTARA) - A total of 295 foreign tourists have visited Bangka Belitung Islands (Babel) Province in July 2022 or increased by 18.47 percent compared to 249 foreign tourists in the previous month, and according to the local Statistics Bureau (BPS) they stayed longer from that of domestic tourists.
"Tourist visits to Belitung Island increased significantly," said Head of the Bangka Belitung BPS Toto Haryanto Silitonga here on Saturday.
Most of the foreign tourists stayed in five-star hotels, he added, and the stay duration was longer than those of domestic tourists .
The foreign tourists' average length was around 6.65 days, while domestic tourists usually stayed only for 1.80 days on the province.
"Most of the foreign tourists stayed on Belitung Island, which is a favorite of visiting tourists. Tourists also tended to spend more than two days on Belitung Island, compared to only one day in other areas," he said.
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Related news: Sandiaga Uno encourages tourism village development in Bangka BelitungHe was upbeat that the increase in the number of tourist visits to have an impact on the development of local micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and the economy of the local community after the COVID-19 pandemic was under control in the Bangka Belitung Islands Province.
"We estimate that arrivals of foreign tourists and guests will increase significantly ahead of and during the G20 events in Belitung on September 7 to 9 this year," he said.
The BPS' data also showed that the number of tourists staying at star hotels in the Province in July 2022 reached 44,033 people, an increase of 7.67 percent compared to 40,897 people in the previous month.
"As many as 99.33 percent of the total 44,033 tourists were domestic tourists," he said.
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