Bintan Resorts and Sriwijaya Air yesterday signed an MoU in Jakarta to promote Bintan as a tourist destination, as well as to develop a multi-destination concept by connecting the integrated resort with Yogyakarta, Bali and Manado.
Bintan Resorts, supported by Gallant Venture Group as its holding company, will develop the infrastructure, improve accessibility to and from Bintan for both domestic and international travellers, and pair destinations in the country.
Frans Gunara, vice president director of Bintan Resorts Cakrawala, said: “Now travellers need to go in and out of Bintan (via) Singapore. For those that need visas to Singapore like the Chinese, they need a multiple visa if they want to go to Bintan via Singapore.
“With the improved access, they can enter Bintan visa-free and out of Singapore with a single visa from the ferry terminal we are building close to the airport.”
Meanwhile, Bintan Aviation Investment is currently developing the airport in Bintan, which when completed in 2018 will be used by Sriwijaya Air as a base.
Toto Nursatyo, commercial director of Sriwijaya Air, said: “Bintan has all the facilities to make it a destination; for now it is a shadow destination for Singapore. With improved accessibility, we expect Bintan to be a destination (in itself) and (act as a) gateway to other parts of Indonesia.”
Bintan Resorts currently has 1,700 rooms and the number will increase to 7,000 rooms by 2020, according to Frans, who expects between six and eight million arrivals per year in the future.
The Indonesian Ministry of Tourism has set a target for both Batam and Bintan to contribute 24 per cent of total arrivals – or 4.8 million tourists – to the country in 2019. Last year, Bintan alone received nearly 700,000 arrivals, and the destination is targeting two million arrivals by 2019.
