Only 4 International Tourists Come To Riau Early 2021

ILLUSTRATION OF Sultan Syarif Kasim II Airport, Pekanbaru Riau (ANTARA)

PEKANBARU - Riau's tourism sector is still affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the beginning of 2021, only four foreign tourists (tourists) have visited the area nicknamed "Bumi Lancang Kuning".

Based on data from the Riau Central Statistics Agency (BPS), only one foreign tourist visited Riau. Then in February there was an increase, although not significant because there were only three foreign tourists who came.

Four foreign tourists since the beginning of the year have been registered because they entered through Sultan Syarif Kasim II Airport in Pekanbaru City, as well as at other entrances at ports in Riau Province. There are three seaports in Riau that officially register foreign citizens, namely Dumai Port, Bengkalis Port and Selatpanjang Port in the Meranti Islands.

"The end of the COVID-19 pandemic that has hit the world, including Indonesia, is still a major factor affecting foreign tourists visiting Indonesia, and particularly to Riau Province," said Head of Riau BPS, Misfaruddin, quoted by Antara, Friday, April 2.

BPS collects data on the development of Riau tourism from various activities in the tourism sector which includes the number of foreign tourists visiting Riau, the occupancy rate of star-rated hotel rooms and the average length of stay of foreign guests and Indonesian guests in star hotels.

In January, continued Misfaruddin, there was only one foreign tourist visiting Riau. So that when compared to the previous month, there was an increase of 200 percent in February.

"If we look at the same period in 2020, where conditions are still normal, there is no COVID-19 pandemic, the number of foreign tourists who come has reached 3,762 visits, a very drastic decline in February 2021," he said.

Even so, BPS noted that the Room Occupancy Rate (TPK) of star hotels in Riau in February reached 38.16 percent, or an increase of 1.47 points compared to January 2021 of 36.69 percent.

TPK is the ratio between the number of room nights used and the number of room nights available (in percent), which indicates whether an accommodation is in demand by visitors or not.

This increase is likely due to starting to increase government and non-government activities in hotels in Pekanbaru. Since the beginning of this year, crowd activities such as weddings began to take place in star hotels.

"The ROR for the highest star hotels in Riau Province is experienced by three-star hotels, amounting to 41.49," he said.

Meanwhile, those related to tourist activity in hotels showed a decrease. The average length of stay of foreign guests (RLMT) at star hotels in February 2021 was 3.11 days, or decreased -0.81 points compared to the previous month which was recorded at 3.92 days.

In addition, the average length of stay for guests (RLMT) in Indonesia also fell because it was recorded for only 1.55 days, or a decrease of -0.10 points compared to the previous month which was recorded at 1.65 days.

"The average length of stay of foreign and Indonesian guests is used to find out how long a guest stays in an accommodation at a certain time," he said.