Jakarta, Apr 1 (IANS): The number of foreign tourists visiting Indonesia was recorded at 117,000 in February 2021, an 86.59 per cent drop compared to the same month last year, a top official announced here on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the number of foreigners travelling to Indonesia in February 2021 decreased by 14.74 per cent compared to that in January 2021, the official of the Central Agency of Statistics told reporters.

Cumulatively in the January-February 2021 period, the number of foreign tourist arrivals reached 254,230, or decreased by 88.25 per cent, compared to that in the same period in 2020 which amounted to 2.16 million visits.

The number of foreigners entering the archipelagic country by air in February 2021 dropped by 98.74 per cent compared to that in the same month last year.

"Almost all airports in the country underwent decreases in the number of foreign holiday makers, except Sam Ratulangi airport in North Sulawesi province that recorded an increase by 10.67 per cent," Setianto said.

According to him, the lowest decline was recorded at Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Banten province with a percentage of 95.50 per cent.

Indonesia closed its borders last year to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Exceptions were granted to those who had special permission from Indonesian ministries or institutions.

Authorities are considering to allow tourism to restart in the resort island of Bali from July onwards.