Batam Readies to Welcome Foreign Tourists in Travel Bubble Scheme

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Batam City Administration in Riau Islands is getting ready to welcome foreign tourists, while the central government is discussing the travel bubble policy with Singapore.

"We're preparing ourselves to welcome foreign tourists," said the chief of Batam Culture and Tourism Office, Ardiwinata, on Friday, September 24.

Currently, both Indonesia and Singapore are formulating the plan to open the border through the travel bubble scheme. Meanwhile, Ardiniwinata said that his side is preparing related policies. "It's a G to G partnership so we let the central government to take care of it," he said.

Through the travel bubble, the people of Singapore can come to Indonesia without going through a quarantine. But there will be requirements to assure the security of both visitors and local residents, for example the PCR test and vaccination.

The preparations include the implementation of Clealiness, Health, Safety and Environment Sustainability (CHSE) sertification for tourism sector such as tourist destinations, hotels, and restaurants. His side also assured that everyone works in the sector had received Covid-19 vaccines.

"The ammenities are also preparing to use PeduliLindungi app," Ardi said.

In addition, the number of Covid-19 transmissions in the City of Batam keeps decreasing. Even Nongsa, the location that is set for travel bubble with Singapore, now records zero active cases and has just set as green zone.

Read: Indonesia Finalizes Safe Travel Bubble Plan with 5 Countries

Antara