Impact of Covid-19, Foreign Tourists Visit to Riau Islands Drastically Decreased

TRIBUNBATAM.id, BATAM - The number of tourist arrivals in Riau Islands 'freefall' since the Covid-19 pandemic attacked.

Noted, the total visits in January to March 2020 only reached 399,263.

This number has decreased dramatically when compared to 2019 ago.

"In January to March last year it reached 686,339," said Head of Riau Islands Tourism Department, Buralimar to TribunBatam, Thursday (05/14/2020).

In addition, Buralimar added, for visits in March this year alone only reached 54,102.

"Compared to March last year, this year it dropped 79.21 percent. In March last year, it reached 260,289 visits," he added.

According to him, Covid-19 pandemic also affected 10,000 tourism workers in Riau Islands.

Some workers even have to be laid off. (TribunBatam.id/Ichwan Nur Fadillah)

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