Riau Islands Aim For 3 Million Tourists Through The 2027 Riau Islands Visit Program

BATAM - As a manifestation of the government program titled The 2027 Riau Islands VIsit, Riau Islands Deputy Governor Nyanyang Haris Pratamura targets three million foreign tourists (tourists) to visit the province.

"We are targeting the visit of three million foreign tourists by 2027, so we have to strengthen promotion and build awareness regarding tourist attractions and travel agents," he said in Batam, quoted from ANTARA, Saturday, August 30.

Therefore, the Riau Islands Provincial Government promotes tourist destinations by holding a photo exhibition at a shopping center in Batam City.

The exhibition features 50 selected photography works highlighting the best tourist destinations in Riau Islands, community culture and marine life.

"The goal is of course to increase the number of tourists traveling in the Riau Islands. Tourism is the fourth largest sector in regional economic contribution, and we must maintain existing destinations and promote them to visitors," he said.

For this reason, the Provincial Government together with regencies/cities prepare infrastructure, hotels, and the flagship agenda which is held weekly, monthly, to annual.

Batam as the main gateway has contributed almost 80 percent of foreign tourist visits to Riau Islands. We are optimistic that the target of 1.7 million tourists this year can be achieved, considering that now there are around 1.2 million people," he added.

In the exhibition, the Riau Islands Tourism Office also collaborated with tourism associations such as the Association of Indonesian Tourism Companies (Kepri) and the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) Riau Islands.

ASITA Kepri offers excellent tour packages, while PHRI Kepri provides a special promo for visitors. Riau Islands Photo Community is also involved in presenting their works.

Nyanyang emphasized that the Riau Islands tourism potential is very strong because it is supported by a strategic geographical location and the existence of world-class destinations such as Penanggat Island, Seribu Statue, Budhi Bakti Vihara, Barelang Bridge, to resort-resort in coastal areas.

"With direct flights from China, Japan, Korea, and other countries, we hope that more foreign tourists will come, either to Batam or to Tanjungpinang," he said.