Indonesia Tourism Minister Says Proposed S’pore-Batam-Bintan Corridor is for S’porean Tourists Only

By
Ashley Seek
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Do you like to travel? Love exploring beyond the country’s borders to see the outside world?

Well COVID-19 has sadly said ‘no’ to a lot of that.

This is why when the Singapore-Batam-Bintan travel corridor was announced, everyone got excited. We aren’t the most vacation-deprived country in the world for nothing, after all.

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Unfortunately, it seems that things might be a little different than what we expected.

Indonesia Tourism Minister Says Proposed S’pore-Batam-Bintan Corridor is for S’porean Tourists Only

On Monday (22 Mar), Indonesia’s tourism minister Sandiaga Uno said the proposed travel corridor was to attract Singaporeans to go over to Indonesia.

But this isn’t the case for those who want to come over here, CNA reported.

He said the current focus was on how to bolster tourism, not for the locals to go abroad.

Mr Uno would like to start the travel corridor on 21 April 2021.

As previously reported, Batam Nongsa and Bintan Lagoi were both popular destinations for many Singaporeans before the COVID-19 pandemic.

He mentioned a direct route that connects Singapore’s ferry terminal with Nongsapura ferry terminal in Batam as well as Bandar Bintan Telani ferry terminal in Bintan.

Currently, three spots in Batam and two in Bintan are currently safe for tourists to visit.

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Must Test Negative For COVID-19

Of course, that also means that you need to be safe as well.

These areas are considered sealed until you meet the necessary requirements.

Travellers heading to these two areas will be required to have a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test result.

They will also be subject to a COVID-19 breath test detector, known locally as GeNose, upon arrival.

Mr Uno says that discussions with Singapore’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan are still in the works.

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And if you didn’t know, the latter is about to head to Indonesia this week to discuss more on this matter.

However, domestic tourists must also be tested negative, as well as go through routine testing both at admission to the premises and also periodically.

Fine for Those Who Refuse Vaccination

And in places like Jakarta, if you refuse to get vaccinated, you might be fined the rough equivalent of S$474.

For those unaware, it is now mandatory in Indonesia to be vaccinated, unless you’re ineligible due to other reasons.

Within 15 months, the Indonesian government aims to get 181.5 million of its population of 270 million vaccinated.

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This is in hopes that the country reaches herd immunity.

Those who refuse would be denied social assistance, government services, or made to pay a fine.

At the moment, 1,500 tourism workers and more than 2,000 people have been vaccinated in Batam and Bintan respectively.

Mr Uno said the target the authorities hope to reach before the proposed travel corridor is 30,000 recipients.

Let’s hope that in a few months, we’ll be having the time of our lives in Indonesia.

Feature Image: Marko Reimann / Shutterstock.com

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Ashley Seek
[email protected]