Like Wayan Koster, Riau Islands Governor Asks The Central Government To Remove The Quarantine Of Foreign Tourists

Riau Islands Governor Ansar Ahmad welcomed the first foreign tourists from Singapore in Lagoi, Bintan, Friday (25/2). (Between/Ogen)

TANJUNGPINANG - Governor of the Riau Islands (Kepri) Ansar Ahmad asked the central government to abolish quarantine obligations for foreign travellers (PPLN) tours to the area under the "travel bubble" travel bubble scheme.

"We ask for discretion from the center regarding the travel bubble, if PPLN to Bali is free from quarantine, the Riau Islands must also do the same," said Ansar in Tanjungpinang, quoted by Antara, Saturday, March 5.

According to Ansar, the policy of mandatory quarantine of PPLN is feared to be burdensome for foreign tourists coming to Riau Islands, because usually the length of their visit ranges from four to seven days.

Currently, dozens of Singaporean prime tourists are traveling to Riau Islands after two years of the pandemic. Even as of May 2022, there have been around 800 foreign tourists from neighboring countries who have ordered tickets to visit the Riau Islands, especially Nongsa Batam and Lagoi Bintan.

"Therefore, we hope that the PPLN quarantine policy will be removed, so that foreign tourist visits will be more stretched," he said.

In addition, Ansar also proposed to the center regarding the rules for foreign tourists who have undergone PCR examinations at the port of arrival in Riau Islands, to be allowed to wait for the results of PCR examinations at hotels to minimize crowds at the port.

Ansar also asked for an equalization of the quota of Singaporean tourists who come to Riau Islands, where a day is proposed as many as 500 people, but so far in a day it is still limited to 50 people.

"Then, we ask that the rules for Caddy Golf accompanying foreign tourists to be quarantined are also evaluated. I don't think there is a need for that," said Ansar.

The governor also hopes that the policy of foreign tourist visits with the travel bubble scheme in Riau Islands is changed to Vaccinated travel lane (VTL), as implemented in Singapore.

The VTL scheme means that foreign tourists who can enter the destination country must meet certain criteria, one of which has received a full dose of COVID-19 vaccination.

"This is what we are discussing with the central government in Jakarta. Hopefully the proposals submitted will be taken into consideration in order to increase foreign tourist visits during the pandemic," said Ansar.