Indonesia’s Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno has highlighted the immense potential for golf tourism in one of the nation’s emerging destinations, the Riau Islands.
Home to 10 separate golf courses, and with excellent links to nearby Singapore, the Riau Islands represent the perfect blend of comfort, quality and convenience for golfers, whether travelling for a weekend on the green, or a more long-term stay.
Speaking at the recent Wonderful Indonesia Golf Tournament held in Batam, the minister put special emphasis on that city and neighbouring and Bintan as two premier attractions for the international golfing community. “We arrange Batam and Bintan in the Riau Islands as a sports tourism hub, especially for golf,” said Uno in a statement on Saturday, 29 June.
The tournament attracted 140 competitors, many of whom came from neighbouring Malaysia and Singapore – an indication of the regional and international appeal of the Riau Islands as a premier golfing hub. The minister also commented on the popularity of the event, noting that “tickets sold out within a day of the launch.”
Golf is set to play a starring role in Indonesia’s ongoing drive to promote sports tourism in locations around the archipelago, and Minister Uno expects the Riau Islands to account for around a quarter of the 14.3 million foreign arrivals expected to visit Indonesia in 2024. “This demonstrates the rapid growth of the sports-based tourism ecosystem, especially golf tourism,” he said.
The Riau Islands have experienced a meteoric rise in recent times. Last year (2023), the area welcomed 1.5 million foreign arrivals – a near 100 percent increase compared to the previous year, when 785,000 visits were recorded.
