JAKARTA.  The number of foreign tourists passing through Kuala Namu Airport in Deli Serdang, North Sumatra, rose by 13.54 percent in the first quarter of 2014 year-on-year.

Indonesian Association of Tour and Travel Agencies’ (Asita) North Sumatra branch head Solahuddin Nasution said that based on Central Statistics Agency (BPS) data, the number of foreign tourists passing through the airport reached 55,302 in the first quarter of 2014, compared to the 48,756 recorded during the first quarter of 2013.

“The rising number of foreign tourists shows that Kuala Namu has a positive effect on North Sumatra’s tourism,” he said as quoted by Antara.

Overall, the number of foreign tourists vising North Sumatra in the first three months of the year rose to 66,025, compared with 2013’s 58,150.

Solahuddin added that tourists from Malaysia made up most foreign tourist arrivals and hoped that the region could help bring in tourists from countries such as China. He added that there were plans to open flights from China to Medan to attract Chinese tourists.

State airport operator Angkasa Pura II’s Kuala Namu general manager Tengku Said Ridwan explained that Kuala Namu received 250 flights a day, higher than the number of flights received at the old Polonia airport in Medan.

The number of flights is expected to increase as new flight routes have been added from Kuala Namu to destinations such as Hat Yai in Thailand, Ipoh in Malaysia and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

The airport operator II is expanding Kuala Namu Airport’s capacity from 8 million passengers at present to 16 million in the second phase of the expansion and eventually to 22 million by 2023, when the third phase is completed.

Editor: Asnil Amri