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BATAM recorded over 100,000 foreign visitors monthly from January to July 2025, prompting the city’s officials to seek more flexible visa rules for tourists from Japan, Korea, China, and India.
In a press statement Saturday, Batam Tourism Head Ardiwinata said the trend bodes well for meeting the city’s 2025 target of 1.7 million foreign tourists.
“If visa rules are relaxed specifically for Batam, I believe arrivals will grow even faster. Before COVID19, tourists from Korea and China surged; giving them priority could bring us back to those levels,” he said.
While most visitors are still from Malaysia, the visitor profile has shifted, Ardiwinata noted.
“It used to be mostly men playing golf. Now families are coming — for food, shopping, even religious tourism. Batam’s amenities are now more complete and varied,” he said.
He added that average monthly foreign arrivals surpass 100,000, with June peaking at 150,000. Though still below prepandemic highs in 2019, the numbers continue to rise year over year.
Data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS) for January–July 2025 shows a total of 861,712 foreign tourist visits, a 21.7 percent increase over the same period in 2024.
Monthly counts were: January, 124,481; February, 104,684; March, 100,279; April, 100,442; May, 140,831; June, 167,469; and July, 123,526.
Batam offers a wide range of attractions — beaches, community led cultural tourism, and religious sites including Sultan Mahmud Riayat Syah Mosque, Vihara Duta Maitreya, Lalita Temple, and more.
Malaysia remains the dominant source market, accounting for nearly 80 percent of foreign tourists in the Riau Islands Province.
Ardiwinata credited this to cooperation among transport providers, hoteliers, tour operators, and destination managers strengthening Batam’s tourism ecosystem.
Given Batam’s geographic proximity to Singapore and its border with this major travel hub, officials believe visa flexibility could unlock further growth in international arrivals. [antaranews/photo special]
