Cruise Ship Stops In Riau Islands Waters, Signs The Tourism Sector Is Exciting After 2 Years Of Vacuum

Riau Archipelago Waters/ Photo: Riau Islands Page

JAKARTA – After two years of vacuum due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the waters of the Riau Archipelago Province (Kepri) have been visited by cruise ships again.

"The presence of this cruise ship will slowly trigger the tourism sector to revive," said Riau Islands Governor Ansar Ahmad in Tanjungpinang, as reported by Antara, Sunday, July 3.

The Genting Dream cruise ship that stopped by the Riau Islands waters departed from Singapore's Marina Bay Cruise Center on Friday (1 July) and arrived at the Bintan Resort Tourism Area in Lagoi, Bintan Regency on Saturday (2 July).

The arrival of the cruise ship was greeted with the signing of an MoU between the management of the Bintan Resorts tourist area, namely Frans Gunara as Vice President Director of PT Bintan Resort Cakrawala and Raymond Lim as Chief Operating Officer of Resorts World Cruises, Singapore.

Governor Ansar fully supports the MoU as an effort to accelerate tourism investment in Riau Islands, where the Bintan area is one of the leading sectors in the tourism sector.

The signing of this MoU is also proof of the seriousness of the local government in accelerating economic recovery in Riau Islands.

"We hope that in the future cruise ship passengers who stop at Bintan, can also stop at Penyengat Island, a historic island in Tanjungpinang," said Ansar.

According to Ansar, the signing of the MoU is not the first time the cooperation has brought cruise ships from abroad to stop by in the waters close to the Bintan Resorts tourist area.

Since 2018, he continued, Bintan Resorts has also been visited every week by other cruise ships, but this cruise was forced to stop due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020.

"Previously, the Voyager of the Seas cruise ship belonging to the Royal Caribbean International company also made two voyages, bringing down 4,000 passengers every time they sailed to Indonesian waters in North Bintan to travel to Bintan Resorts," said Ansar.

Meanwhile, Group General Manager of PT Bintan Resort Cakrawala Abdul Wahab said that Resorts World Cruises cruise ships are one of the entry points that can increase international visitors, the majority of whom come from Singapore, India, Malaysia and other regional regions.

"It is projected that weekly trips on this cruise ship will contribute an average of 4,000 to 5,000 travelers per month, and we have signed a memorandum of understanding for 52 weeks," said Abdul Wahab.