ER
THE MINISTRY of Tourism is encouraging the Nongsa Special Economic Zone (SEZ), Batam, Riau Islands, to become a tourism center with a digital economic ecosystem and world-class industry.
According to the Minister of Tourism, Widiyanti, Putri Wardhana began her working visit to Batam by visiting a number of strategic locations in the Nongsa SEZ, Batam, Riau Islands, to see firsthand the development of tourism infrastructure as well as the development of an international standard digital economic ecosystem.
“Today’s visit to Nongsa SEZ is a manifestation of the government’s commitment, in this case the Ministry of Tourism, to support the acceleration of investment, increase competitiveness, and strengthen Batam’s connectivity as one of the main gateways for Indonesian tourism,” he said in Batam, Thursday (10/16), 2025.
During the visit, Minister of Tourism Widiyanti accompanied by the Governor of the Riau Islands Ansar Ahmad and local government officials inspected a number of important development points, including Infinite Studios which is a center for creative industry development, and Apple Academy which acts as a center for talent development in the field of technology and applications.
Apart from that, the group also visited Costaluna, a commercial area which is one of the centers of economic growth in the Nongsa SEZ, as well as Nongsa Point Marina, a gateway for marine tourism which can accommodate around 67 yachts from various countries, including Australia, the United States and a number of countries in Europe.
The presence of this marina is in line with the Ministry of Tourism’s flagship program, namely Upgrading Tourism, one of the focuses of which is the development of marine tourism as a strong tourist attraction in Indonesia.
Nongsa SEZ Batam exists as an area that integrates tourism potential with the development of digital and industrial ecosystems connected to global markets. This area is also being developed into an education center and data center which is expected to strengthen Batam’s role in the international digital economic chain.
The synergy between the tourism sector and the digital economy in this region is expected to provide new experiences for tourists, as well as attract the interest of investors from within and outside the country.
The realization of investment in the Nongsa SEZ itself in 2025 has reached 95 percent or around IDR2,709.8 billion of the targets of IDR2,835 billion. Meanwhile, the cumulative achievement since Nongsa was designated as a KEK in 2021 to June 2025 has reached IDR8.4 trillion.
With this synergy, the Nongsa SEZ is projected to become a catalyst for significant economic growth, creating new jobs and providing real benefits for the surrounding community.
“I believe, with strong synergy between the central government, regional governments, investors, business actors and all parties involved in the development of the Nongsa SEZ, this area will continue to develop and become the pride of Indonesia,” concluded Minister Widiyanti. [traveltext.id]
