Indonesia’s Minister of Tourism and the Creative Economy, Sandiaga Uno, is working to initiate visits by international cruise ships to Indonesia commencing in July 2022. Sandiaga met with Royal Caribbean and Resort World Cruises officials during a recent trip to Singapore.
The State News Agency Antara reports that Minister Sandiaga offered the two cruise operators cruise programs to Batam and Bintan Island in the Riau Archipelago, Surabaya, Bali, Belitung Island and Lombok.
Speaking in Singapore on Wednesday, 01 June 2022, the Indonesian Tourism Minister said: “I have met with the management of the cruise operators and reached agreements to commence cruise programs this year. This is big news, very strategic, and very significant in steps to restore Indonesia’s tourism and creative sectors of the economy.” Sandiaga said cruise ship visits would begin this year with stops in Batam-Bintan-Surabaya-Bali.
In 2023, cruise visits to Belitung and Lombok will commence from Singapore.
“Two big cruise companies have already committed to undertaking itineraries in Indonesia. This is beneficial to all parties because it promotes priority tourism destinations in Indonesia while also creating business and employment opportunities that are very much needed to restore our tourism sector,” said Sandiaga.
The tourism minister insisted that he offered no special incentives to the cruise companies but only to facilitate the application of regulations. Adding: “In the end, the incentive is the destinations themselves, the culture, the natural environment, the human resources, and the local richness (of the destinations).”
North Bali as a Cruise Port of Call
Sandiaga said the cruise operators were invited to visit north Bali. Meanwhile, the Ministry’s Deputy for Strategic Tourism Policies, Nia Niscaya, promised collaboration and cooperation between the cruise operators, the Ministry of Tourism, and the Ministry of Transportation to facilitate cruise ship visits to Indonesia.
The Chief Operating Officer for Resort World Cruises in Singapore, Raymond Lim Jun Yan, pledged his company was ready to sail in Indonesian waters and hoped no obstacles materialize, preventing cruise ship visits in July and August 2022.
Genting Dream Cruises from Resort World Cruises will begin sailing in July and December 2022 with 1,700 cruise ship cabins from the cruise lines’ entire inventory of 3,500 rooms. Meanwhile, Royal Caribbean Cruises says 4,800 cruise cabins will begin making calls on the Islands of Bali and Lombok.