The travel bubble agreement between Singapore and Indonesia that occurred last month resulted in hundreds of tourists planning to enter Indonesia. The Riau Islands Provincial Government noted that about 800 tourists had booked travel tickets from Singapore to Batam and Bintan.
As many as 800 tourists departed from Singapore’s Tanah Merah port. Of that number, 300 of them will dock at Nongsa Batam and 500 people to Lagoi Bintan. The next arrival is scheduled for Friday, February 25, 2022, at the Nongsa Pura Port for as many as 70 tourists.
The Head of the Riau Islands Province Tourism Office, Buralimar, said hundreds of Singaporean tourists had booked travel tickets in the Batam and Bintan travel bubble scheme with Singapore until May 2022.
As of Wednesday (23/2), 26 tourists had entered the Nongsa Sensasion area of ​​Batam City. This number will increase over time.
Buralimar, Thursday (24/2), explained, “Today [Wednesday, February 23, 2022] only 26 people who came, namely travel agents and media in Singapore. They will promote all of this to Singaporeans.”
After the meeting between Jokowi and the Prime Minister of Singapore, there was a travel bubble agreement between the two countries. Through this scheme, tourists can only vacation in areas that have been determined by the government in Batam and Bintan, namely Nongsa Batam and Lagoi Bintan.
On the other hand, the Singapore government has implemented a Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) for Batam and Bintan residents who want to vacation in Singapore. In contrast to the travel bubble, the VTL, which takes effect from February 25, 2022, does not limit the movement of tourists while in Singapore.
Furthermore, the Riau Islands Provincial Government plans to change the travel bubble scheme to VTL for tourists coming from Singapore to Batam. “We want the policy to be the same as Singapore’s VTL,” said Riau Islands Governor Ansar Ahmad.
“If everything is safe and under control, we will propose an application like Singapore’s VTL to the central government,” he said.
He also reminded that tourists who come to Batam and Bintan must have received a complete primary Covid-19 vaccination or the first and second doses, and use the PeduliLindung application.
