Have Three Economic Powers, Riau Islands Optimistics Can Prevent The Impact Of Recession

TANJUNGPINANG - The Provincial Government (Pemprov) of the Riau Islands (Kepri) is optimistic that the three economic powers owned by the region will be able to prevent the impact of the economic recession.

Riau Islands Governor Ansar Ahmad revealed that the three economic powers are the industrial, tourism and marine sectors.

The development of the industrial sector during the pandemic is inseparable from the facilities provided by the government to investors in Bintan Regency and Batam City. Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in Bintan and Batam are facilities provided by the government to investors, which are the main drivers of the economy.

"SEZs in Indonesia are mostly given by the central government to Riau Islands, namely in Bintan and Batam. Everything is going well," he said, quoted by Antara, Monday, December 12.

The tourism sector in Riau Islands has also returned to normal this year. The number of foreign tourists visiting Riau Islands has drastically increased compared to 2020-2021.

Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the number of foreign tourist visits to Riau Islands increased by 1.44 percent during October 2022 to 106,160 visits compared to September 2022 which reached 104,652 visits.

Until October 2022, the number of foreign tourist visits to Riau Islands reached 465,670 visits, an increase of 20,378.01 percent when compared to the same period in the previous year. The increase in the number of foreign tourists, he said, had a positive impact on tourism businesses such as hotels, restaurants, tourist attractions, and MSMEs.

"The positive impact of the development of the tourism sector is very large. Wisman is not only traveling, but also shopping at a number of malls in Batam and Tanjungpinang," he said.

The third advantage, according to him, is that Riau Islands has an ocean of 96 percent. The potential for maritime affairs in Riau Islands is a source of income for business actors and the government.

"The fisheries business is growing rapidly in Riau Islands," he said.

Assistant for Economics and Development of the Riau Islands Provincial Government Luki Zaiman Prawira said the economic recession had not yet had an impact on Riau Islands. Economic resilience in Riau Islands is quite good, marked by normal purchasing power, as well as inflation in November 2022 of 5.2 percent, still below the national level which reached 5.4 percent.

Then the population of Riau Islands is only 2.1 million people, relatively few compared to other provinces. To meet the needs of the community is not too difficult, even though Riau Islands is not a food producer, he said. Efforts to be self-sufficient in food continue to be made so that Riau Islands does not depend on neighboring countries and other provinces.

Supervision of the distribution and trade of commodities needed by the community is carried out by various institutions to prevent speculators and increase in the price of goods.

"The assistance provided to underprivileged communities, both sourced from the central and regional budgets, encourages people's purchasing power to remain normal," he said.