JAKARTA. State-owned port operator PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Pelindo III) recorded an 11.5 percent increase in cruise ship calls at ports it manages across the country throughout 2014.

Pelindo III spokesman Edi Priyanto said 126 cruise ships called in at 15 ports that Pelindo III manages, with stops made mostly at Benoa Port in Bali, Lembar Port in Lombok, and Tanjung Emas in Central Java, last year.

“The three ports are near tourist attractions, such as Tanjung Emas, which is close to the iconic Borobudur temple, and Lembar, which is near Gili Trawangan Beach,” Edi said in a statement on Monday.

He said Benoa saw the highest number of cruise ship calls in 2014, with 49 liners stopping at the port, a 19.5 percent rise from port calls recorded in the previous year.

“This port also recorded the highest number of cruise tourists, with 45,171 tourists, 16 percent higher than the 39,105 tourists arriving at the port throughout 2013,” he explained, adding that Bali remained a magnet for cruise ships.

According to company data, the number of cruise ships making stops at ports it operates keeps increasing every year due to infrastructure development and service improvement.

In 2010, Pelindo III only attracted 57 cruise ships. The figure rose to 76 ships in 2011. Then the figure kept rising year by year with 92 and 116 cruise ships arriving at the firm’s ports in 2012 and 2013, respectively. (Nurfika Osman)

Editor: Hendra Gunawan