Governor Ansar Ahmad: Visa Relaxation Boosts Riau Islands’ Tourism Post-Pandemic

BATAMCLICK.COM: Riau Islands Governor Ansar Ahmad has advocated for visa relaxation policies to drive tourism growth, particularly by attracting more international visitors to the region.

According to Ansar, a more flexible visa policy is essential to revitalize and strengthen the tourism sector in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. He pointed out that in 2019, a visa-free policy successfully boosted tourist arrivals to 2.86 million visitors. However, post-pandemic restrictions on visas have become a significant obstacle for the tourism industry.

“Visa relaxation is crucial. The visa-free policy in 2019 brought nearly three million tourists. After the pandemic, stricter visa policies have become a major challenge,” Ansar said in Tanjungpinang on Sunday.

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Riau Islands’ strategic location, close to major markets like Singapore and Malaysia, combined with its robust tourism infrastructure, offers vast potential for cross-border tourism development. Ansar believes this potential can be maximized through more traveler-friendly policies, including Visa on Arrival (VoA) with shorter validity periods and competitive fees.

He emphasized that relaxed visa policies could enhance Riau Islands’ appeal as a strategic tourism destination. “This policy has a broad impact, not only on tourism but also on the wider economy that directly benefits the community,” he added.

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Ansar further highlighted Riau Islands’ strategic position as a key checkpoint in global trade. Located in the Malacca Strait, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, the region sees over 90,000 vessels and 70 million containers pass through annually.

“With such immense potential, Riau Islands have a great opportunity to become Indonesia’s third-largest tourist destination after Bali and Jakarta,” he explained.

The governor also praised the seven-day visa policy introduced at the end of 2024, priced at Rp250,000. This initiative has proven effective, attracting 5,800 international visitors within just a few days of its implementation.

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“In addition to the 30-day VoA, tourists now have the option of a more affordable seven-day visa. This move has made Riau Islands tourism even more competitive,” Ansar concluded.

Sumber: Antara