Riau Islands Governor Wants Central Government To Open All Doors For Tourism Like Bali

Singapore's first foreign tourists come to Lagoi, Bintan, with the travel bubble scheme (ANTARA)

KEPRI - Governor of the Riau Islands (Kepri) Ansar Ahmad wants the central government to immediately open the doors of tourism in all local areas such as on the island of Bali.

"Think of the travel bubble scheme that we opened yesterday in Nongsa Batam and Lagoi Bintan, as an initial trial," said Governor Ansar in Tanjungpinang, Antara, Friday, March 18.

Ansar said the only way if tourism in Riau Islands wanted to revive, then there was no other choice. The government must open all tourism in the region.

The travel bubble travel bubble policy specifically for Batam and Bintan, which was opened on February 23, 2022, is less effective, because foreign tourists coming to Riau Islands are still below the target of 350 people per week.

"At the very least, tourist doors must be opened in four regencies/cities in Riau Islands. Namely Batam, Bintan, Karimun and Anambas," said Ansar.

He said neighboring countries such as Singapore have proven successful in attracting foreign tourists, once the neighboring country opened a tourism scheme based on Vaccinated Travel Lane Arrangement via sea or (VTL Sea).

According to him, Riau Islands need to take the same policy as Singapore, which is to free travelers to visit all regions, but with strict health protocols.

He had conveyed the request directly to President Joko Widodo while attending a land and water unification activity at the Zero Point of the National Capital of the Archipelago (IKN) East Kalimantan.

"The president promised to immediately pass what we asked for, in which the tourism policy in the Riau Islands immediately equated with the policies imposed on the island of Bali," he said.

Ansar continued, confirming that the trend of COVID-19 pandemic cases in the area continued to decline. As of March 17, 2022, there were only 115 positive confirmed cases, with a cure rate of more than 200 people.

"This means that cases of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to decline, so Riau Islands is very safe for tourists to visit," he explained.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Director of Tourism Marketing for South East Asean Region Dadang hopes that Singapore's VTL Sea will be further expanded, so that more citizens can visit tourism centers spread across many regions in Indonesia, especially Riau Islands.

Singapore announced a VTL Sea policy that applies to the movement of people in both countries by sea from 25 February 2022

"Through this policy, the Singapore government wants to gradually restore sea transportation routes, with the Riau Islands, Indonesia," said Dadang.