TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Foreign tourist visits to Batam City continue to increase every month. The city is targeting the number of foreign visitors could exceed a million this year.

"We still remember that 1,947,943 foreign tourists visited Batam in 2019. At least, we all hope, this year's visits will rise again, if possible more than 1 million," Batam City Culture and Tourism Office chief, Ardiwinata, said on Tuesday, August 1.

Batam Statistics Agency (BPS) yesterday announced that in as of June, 39,671 foreigners visited Batam, a 136.69-percent increase from the month before.

In the first half of this year, visitors from Singapore and Malaysia topped the number of visits to Batam with 22,587 and 4,731 arrivals, respectively, followed by India with 2,210.

Ardiwinata said that the increase in foreign tourist visits was mainly due to the government's policy of not mandating Covid-19 testing, quarantine and travel insurance. There are also the series of tourism events held by the city government, including the recent Kenduri Seni Melayu (KSM).

"Events are the fastest [way] to bring in foreign tourists and can increase the length of their stay," he said.

Ardi said that Batam's ongoing infrastructure development also plays a role in attracting more tourists. "Many new destinations have been prepared," he said.

Yogi Eka Sahputra

Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News