Singaporeans Now Free to Visit Batam, Bintan

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Singaporean tourists entering Batam City, Riau Islands can now vacation in all areas of Batam and Bintan Islands, no longer limited to Nongsa Batam and Lagoi Bintan through the travel bubble scheme. The open access is set forth in Circular No.13/2022 issued by the Central Covid-19 Task Force.

"Based on the circular, we no longer have a travel bubble. Now tourists can vacation to other important places on Batam Island and Bintan Island," Riau Islands Tourism Office chief, Buralimar, said on Sunday, March 13.

On February 24, the government implemented a travel bubble for tourists from Singapore. Through the scheme, Singaporeans were allowed to enter only the Nongsa Batam and Lagoi Bintan areas.

Buralimar said the Tourism Office continues to push for border easing not only for Batam and Bintan, but also for several other areas in Riau Islands such as Karimun, Lingga, Natuna and Anambas.

"We continue to evaluate this every week, we hope that all Riau Islands can be visited by tourists from Singapore," he said.

According to Buralimar, the reopening of access by region is the result of the central government's evaluation, based on indicators such as the number of Covid-19 cases. In addition, the travel bubble scheme is considered less attractive to tourists because it restricts their travels.

Read: Indonesia Optimistic Singaporeans' Visits to Lagoi Will Increase

YOGI EKA SAHPUTRA