Batam Nongsa and Bintan Lagoi are set to reopen in April 2021.

According to Kompas, these two areas have been zoned as travel corridors in the Riau Islands.

Lower Covid-19 cases

This is earlier than Bali, which is set to open to tourists between June and July 2021.

Indonesia's Minister for Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno said on Mar. 20 that Batam and Bintan are "more prepared" as the Covid-19 cases in these areas are low.

"We hope to keep the numbers low and under control. The plan [is to reopen] this April," he said.

In a report by Channel NewsAsia, the minister said that preparations can begin for a "safe travel corridor" between Singapore, Batam Nongsa, and Bintan Lagoi.

He added that there are direct routes from Singapore to Bintan and Batam via the ferry terminals.

To ensure everyone's safety, foreign tourists are expected to do a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test in their own country.

They will then have to take a GeNose test, a Covid-19 breath test detector developed in Indonesia, upon entering and leaving the two tourist zones.

In a press conference on Mar. 22, Uno clarified that the proposed safe travel corridor is only for Singapore residents to come to Batam and Bintan and does not include Indonesian residents going to Singapore.

Vaccinating tourism workers

Uno said that around 1,500 tourism workers in Batam while more than 2,000 in Bintan have also been vaccinated.

They are targeting to vaccinate 30,000 residents before April before implementing the "safe travel corridor".

Top image from Google Maps.