JAKARTA, 26 January 2022: Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo has approved a plan that reopened the tourist door between the Riau Islands and Singapore (Batam Bintan-Singapore (BB-S), 24 January, through a travel bubble scheme the official tourism website Indonesia Travel reported.
“The President agreed to introduce the BB-S travel bubble as a prototype to start the economic opening, especially tourism in a limited and controlled scheme,” said Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto last week.
Here are some conditions and regulations for international travellers who are planning to enter Indonesia using the travel bubble mechanism.
All international travellers must enter Nongsapura International Ferry Terminal for the travel bubble area in Nongsa Sensation in Batam; and Bandar Bintan Belani Ferry Terminal for the travel bubble area in Lagoi Bintan Resort in Bintan.
Travellers must present cards or certificates (print or digital) showing they are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 at least 14 days before departure in both the traveller’s native language and English.
The vaccine cards or certificates must also be recognised by the Official Website of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia or e-HAC International Indonesia.
Travellers must show a negative RT-PCR test result in the country/region of origin not more than 96 hours before departure.
They must hold a valid tourist visa or other entry permits with exclusions to international travellers with Singapore citizenship.
They must show a confirmed booking and payment for a travel bubble holiday packages in the Lagoi Bintan Resort or Nongsa Sensation area.
All foreign nationals must show evidence of health insurance with a minimum cover of SGD30,000 to cover the costs of Covid-19 handling and medical evacuation to the referral hospital.
They must use the PeduliLindungi and Bluepass apps to track their activities in the travel bubble area.
They will undergo an RT-PCR test on arrival at the entrance to the travel bubble area of Batam and Bintan.
If the RT-PCR is negative, they can continue with their booked travel itinerary. International travellers who test positive without any symptoms or experiencing mild symptoms must undergo isolation or treatment in a designated accommodation venue separate from the travel bubble area entirely self-funded. If they test positive, they will be isolated and treated at a referral hospital at their own cost.
During their stay in the travel bubble destinations, international travellers are only allowed to interact with tourists or parties within one travel bubble area. They must only carry out activities in the predetermined zone as stated in the trip itinerary.
They are duty-bound to report if they experience symptoms related to Covid-19 and may have to take subsequent RT-PCR tests.
