For Six Months, North Sumatra Only Visited 12 Chinese Tourists

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The number of foreign tourists visiting North Sumatra in January - June or the first semester of 2021 is only 205 people.

"The number of foreign tourists in the first semester of 2021, which was as many as 205, fell 99.54 percent from the same period in 2020 which could still be as many as 44,140 people," said Head of the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) of North Sumatra, Syech Suhaimi in Medan, quoted from Antara, Tuesday, August 3. .

The drop in tourist arrivals was due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The decline in foreign tourist visits occurred from all countries and entrances to North Sumatra.

From Kualanamu Airport, for example, the arrival of foreign tourists in semester 1 2021 was only 193 from the same period in 2020 which was 41,168. From the Port of Belawan, only 12 foreign tourists from the same period in 2020 were 23.

"In fact, from Tanjung Balai Asahan Port and Silangit Airport, the number of foreign tourist arrivals was still nil in the first semester," said Syech.

Tourist arrivals from various countries have also fallen, such as from Malaysia, China, which have been the biggest suppliers of tourists to North Sumatra.

The data, said Syech, showed that the arrival of tourists from Malaysia in the first semester was only 57 from the same period in 2020, which was 20,226.

There were also only 12 from China from the same period in 2020 which amounted to 602 people.