Head of the Riau Islands (Kepri) Tourism Office (Dinpar) Buralimar said the shift in status from pandemic to endemic had made the tourism sector in Riau Islands revitalized. "During the Covid-19 pandemic, Riau Islands tourism experienced a decline as a result of restrictive regulations issued by the government. "Over time, the arrival of foreign tourists to the Riau Islands has the opportunity to revive the regional tourism sector," said Buralimar in a press statement, Tuesday (11/10/2022). Buralimar said, one way to revive the tourism sector is to reopening international shipping access from the Tanjungbalai Karimun International Port, Karimun Regency, Riau Islands Province. "The opening of Karimun international shipping access has the potential to bring in foreign tourists, both from Malaysia and Singapore. In addition, this policy can also have an impact on improving the community's economy, "said Buralimar.
Therefore, Buralimar hopes that the Regional Apparatus Organizations (OPD) of the Karimun Regency Government (Pemkab) and related stakeholders can improve in welcoming foreign tourists to Riau Islands. In addition, Buralimar provides advice for the OPD of the Karimun Regency Government to organize various events related to several potential sectors in Karimun, ranging from the natural tourism sector, culinary arts, or historical objects in order to add to the attraction for foreign tourists. Acting Head of the Riau Islands Dinpar Luki Zaiman Prawira said that data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) for the January-July 2022 period showed that the number of foreign tourist visits to Riau Islands increased to 175,000 people. Seeing this potential, Luki targets the number of foreign tourists visiting the Riau Islands to increase to reach one million people by the end of 2022. "The target of up to one million tourists in Riau Islands is a great opportunity to develop tourism and the Riau Islands economy," said Luki.
