"Opportunities for Tourism and MSME Development Through the Batam-Johor RORO (Roll-On/Roll-Off) Ship Route".

Batam, Indonesia, November 22nd, 2024. Badan Pengusahaan (BP) BatamBP  hosted a Coordination Meeting on Thursday, November 21, 2024, themed "Opportunities for Tourism and MSME Development Through the Batam-Johor RORO (Roll-On/Roll-Off) Ship Route".

More than 100 people attended this coordination meeting in the Balairung Sari BP Batam building, including members of the Batam City Regional Leadership Coordination Forum, tourism associations, university lecturers, and several students.

Purwiyanto Head of BP Batam ( in-charge ), officially opened the workshop, which was attended by several presenters, including Irfan Syakir Widyasa, Head of the KPBPBB Development Centre and KEK BP Batam; Benny Syahroni, General Manager of BP Batam Passenger Port Business Unit; and Ikaputra, Head of the UGM Centre for Transportation and Logistics Studies.

Then came Ardiwinata, Head of the Batam City Culture and Tourism Service; Bambang Hedrawan, Director of Batam State Polytechnic; Agung Edy Wibowo, Deputy Director 1 of Batam Tourism Polytechnic; and Sumantri Endang, Head of International Relations and Public Relations of DPD ASITA Kepri.

Sumantri mentioned in his presentation that he favours the opening of this RORO route, with a focus on attracting foreign tourists. Johor Baru has 4 million cars, including those owned by Malaysian and Singaporean residents. This is a tourist profile that can be targeted to travel via the RORO route. Aside from that, Sumantri made ideas for how Indonesia should maximise the benefits of this plan by following the appropriate procedures that align with the aim. This covers the appropriate tourism procedures

Additionally, the session was streamed online via Zoom, and General Johor Baru Sigit S. Widiyanto of the Indonesian Consulate attended as well. "If we can realise this plan, there will be many benefits for Indonesia in terms of tourism, trade, investment, and others," said Sigit, the man who came up with the RORO concept.