S'poreans visit Batam the most

S'poreans visit Batam the most

BATAM, Riau: Over 71 percent of the 817,961 tourists who
visited Batam Island this year came from neighboring Singapore,
Antara reported.

Statistics also showed that between January and September this
year, a total of 81,788 Malaysians came to the island, 32,557
from Japan, 48,884 from South Korea, 16,632 from Taiwan, 8,323
from the United Kingdom, 8,018 from the United States, 7,528 from
the Philippines, 4,727 from Australia, 3,076 from the Netherlands
and 18,647 from other countries.

The head of the local tourism office, Priedhy Soegondo, said
apart from its proximity, many Singaporeans came to the island
because of the competitively priced holidays offered by the
island compared to other popoular destinations such as Taiwan and
Hongkong.

Batam is also less than an hour away by speedboat.

Priedhy also expressed hope that the construction of a
building for Haj pilgrims, which could accommodate 3,000 to 5,000
people, would turn Batam's image of a sex tourist spot into a
resort for religious tourism. (mds)