Bintan Resorts is experiencing a steady recovery in corporate groups and leisure tourists, marked by an 18 per cent year-on-year surge in arrivals.
Having welcomed 450,000 visitors by the end of May, the resort remains firmly on track to reach its annual target of 750,000 arrivals. However, this target remains significantly below the pre-pandemic peak of around 1.2 million arrivals achieved in 2019.
Abdul Wahab, chief operating officer of Bintan Resorts, told TTGmice that if global conflicts did not disrupt international travel, the resort could have surpassed 800,000 arrivals this year.
Wahab added that because of the war, “most of our arrivals are now from South-east Asian nations, with Singapore being the major contributor to arrivals, followed by China”.
Business events are key to sustaining these figures, now contributing 15 to 20 per cent of total arrivals.
“Corporate retreats and incentive groups are steadily returning to Bintan. Recently we had a 280-pax corporate group from Singapore’s AIA Insurance,” Wahab said, adding that he has also seen incentive groups from France and Germany this year.
Another five more incentive groups from China are due to arrive over the next few months, bringing delegations of 100 to 200 participants each from various sectors.
In response to structural shifts that ended the government-funded VITO (Visit Indonesia Tourism Officers) programme, Bintan Resorts has spent the last couple of years establishing its own network of overseas representatives.
Apart from offices in India, Dubai, South Korea and Jakarta, Bintan Resorts recently added a representative in China.
Wahab said: “Earlier, we had digital representation in China, now we have a (brick-and-mortar) representation, which covers Beijing and Shanghai.”
To support this growth, a wave of new infrastructure is underway. Recognising that current venues cap events at 1,000 attendees, Bintan Resorts is developing a new convention centre capable of hosting 5,000 people.
Meanwhile, an international consortium is set to break ground later this year on a 100-hectare digital and educational theme park.
Driven by these developments and the construction of seven new hotels, Bintan’s total hospitality capacity is projected to scale from 3,200 to over 5,500 keys in the next three to five years, securing the foundation needed for long-term stability, Wahab said.
