TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Riau Islands Tourism Office carried out a massive promotion to attract foreign tourists.

The Head of the Riau Islands Tourism Office, Buralimar, said that the national tourism branding 'Wonderful Indonesia' had been a success. “Now, it's our time carry out massive promotion abroad, especially in China, India, and Korea,” he said.

Buralimar said that his province has a slot to bring in seven million foreign tourists, mainly from Singapore and Malaysia, which are very close to the Riau Islands.

“If we can achieve half of the target, it means that the foreign tourists visiting the Riau Islands can reach 3.5 million,” he said.

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Currently, he went on, tourist destinations in Batam and Bintan have been prepared. “We are now preparing Tanjungpinang and Karimun with its Malay culture and culinary,” Buralimar said.

The Provincial Tourism Office is also fixing the transportation access, especially the airports in Natuna, Anambas and Lingga.

“The Tourism Ministry has an accelerated access team for tourist destinations, we focus on directing the foreign tourists from Jakarta and Singapore,” he said.

Buralimar said the number of foreign tourists visiting the Riau Islands Province increased by 22.13 percent or 1,662,476 people from January to August. It is still dominated by Singaporean tourists, with a percentage of 47.40 percent. Followed by Malaysia at 11.84 percent, China at 10.76 percent, India at 3.98 percent, South Korea at 3.17 percent and the Philippines at 2.24 percent.

ANTARA