BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN – Tourist arrivals into Brunei International Airport increased by 7.4 percent last year, surpassing the government’s target of 278,000 visitor arrivals by air, the minister of Primary Resources and Tourism disclosed on Wednesday. A total of 278,136 air arrivals were recorded in 2018, compared to 258,955 in 2017, and 218,809 in 2016. “We believe that [the number of tourist arrivals] will steadily increase over time,” MPRT minister YB Dato Seri Setia Hj Ali Apong said in a speech during the launch of the Brunei River Heritage Trail. According to MPRT Deputy Permanent Secretary Wardi Hj Mohammad Ali, the ministry is targeting 300,000 tourist arrivals by air in 2019 — a 7.8 percent increase from 2018 — fueled by key markets in the Far East, such as China and Korea. For the first quarter of 2018, tourist arrivals from the Far East region showed significant growth of 40.5 percent from Q1 2017. South Korea has also proven to be one of Brunei’s fastest growing tourism markets, with growth leaping 145 percent between 2016 and 2017. “The tourism industry is performing very well, especially with our key markets in the Far East,” Wardi said. “The ministry is continuously working on developing skills …
