JAKARTA, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Indonesian government expects tourism income to rise significantly this year as foreign tourists into the country are expected to surge, Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said here on Tuesday.

The tourism ministry has targeted the number of foreign tourist arrivals to expand 2 million people this year to 17 million, with a projected revenue of 223 trillion rupiah (some 16.644 billion U.S. dollars), in comparison with last year's 203 trillion rupiah (about 15.152 billion U.S. dollars).

"The growth of foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia is three folds higher than that in other ASEAN member nations," Yahya said at the ministry.

Bali, the center of Indonesia's tourism industry has recovered from the risk of Mount Agung volcano and lured the most visitors from China last year, according to Bali tourism office.

Indonesia is home to over 17,000 islands and the government has stepped up facilities and services for foreign visitors to enjoy holidays across the nation.