TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian government is set to reopen the nation to international tourism with Singapore under a travel bubble policy with Batam and Bintan in the Riau Islands. This was confirmed in an official state circular issued by the COVID-19 Task Force and is effective beginning January 24.

“The entry gate for the travel bubble is at Nongsa and the ferry terminal of Lagoi, Batam,” Coordinating Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto in a virtual press conference on Monday, January 24.

Airlangga said international tourists who enter the country are subjected to a number of requirements such as complete vaccination doses and PCR swab tests with a negative result.

Visitors must also have a SGD30,000 health insurance, download the PeduliLindungi coronavirus tracing app, and own a blue pass card. Visiting visas will be required for tourists who are not Singaporean natives or of ASEAN countries.

Airlangga ensured that local COVID-19 Task Forces have been established in tourism sites that are hoped to suppress the spread of COVID-19. All tourism businesses in the Riau Islands are required to fulfill the CHSE certificate.

He hoped that the travel bubble cooperation would boost the number of foreign tourists entering Indonesia amid the pandemic. "The travel bubble in Batam and Bintan with Singapore will encourage tourism activities," he said.

Read: Sandiaga Uno: Batam-Bintan-Singapore Travel Bubble Opens January 24

FRANCISCA CHRISTY ROSANA