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Riau Islands prepares more than 100 events to lure foreign tourists
Riau Islands received 2.63 million foreign tourists in 2018, a 23.16 percent increase from 2.13 million in 2017s
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The beauty of Pelawan Beach on Karimun Island, Tanjung Balai, Riau Islands. The provincial government expects the number of foreign tourists will increase to 2.8 million people in 2020. (Shutterstock/File)
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n addition to improving its tourist destinations, Riau Islands province will also organize more than 110 cultural and sporting events next year to meet its target of welcoming 2.8 million foreign tourists next year.
These events, ranging from sports competitions, musical performances and cultural carnivals, have been included on the province’s calendar of events, which was unveiled during a meeting at the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry building on Dec. 5.
"We predict that next year, Riau Islands will receive about 2.8 million foreign tourists. With this calendar of events, we want tourists to be more informed about all of our tourist hot spots and hopefully more foreign tourists will visit Riau Islands,"Riau Islands Tourism Agency head Buralimar said in remarks during the announcement of the calendar of events.
According to Statistics Indonesia (BPS) data, the Riau Islands received 2.63 million foreign tourists in 2018, a 23.16 percent increase from 2.13 million in 2017. As of October this year, the number of foreign tourists visiting the island had reached 2.34 million.
Batam and Bintan islands, which are about 45 minutes by a ferry from Singapore, have become popular destinations for Singaporeans and Malaysians to spend their weekends. In 2018, Singaporeans topped the list with 1.12 million people, which amounted to 48.44 percent of all foreign tourist arrivals in 2018. Malaysians came in second with 273,370 people, Chinese visitors in third place with 236,870 people, Indian visitors in the fourth position with 97,300 people and South Koreans in fifth with 67,070 people.
Buralimar said Singaporeans remained at the top of the list this year, accounting for 55 percent of all foreign tourists visiting the province. Chinese visitors came in second, Malaysians third and South Koreans fourth.
"We also see potential from Indian tourists. Over the years, many of them have become wealthy enough to travel to places as far as Indonesia and they can also afford to bring their families and staying for a good chunk of time. In Batam there are at least 10 Indian restaurants, indicating that local businesses are also adjusting to foreign tourist preferences," said Buralimar.
