THE LURE OF BINTAN
I find it inevitable for the island to take such
accolades, as it has already been considered
as ultimate holiday destination for every
holidaymaker, honeymooners among others.
One thing that sets it apart from other holiday
destination, I am told, is that it possesses rich
hinterland, culture and historic sites that are
not your usual tourist baits, albeit only for those
astute ones.
Incidentally, I am sure this place would be
a great attraction to avid golfers, as the residents
who do tee off would find this place literally a
haven as they can enjoy not one, but four designer
courses, ie, the Ian Baker Finch Course (Bintan
Lagoon), Jack Nicklaus Course (Bintan Lagoon),
Greg Norman Course (Laguna Bintan) and Gary
Player Course (Ria Bintan).
As a matter of fact, Bintan is already a
popular destination for sports activities such as
The Bintan Triathlon, The Bintan Marathon, The
Bintan Ironman Race, The Bintan Moon Run,
Tour de Bintan, and numerous racing, cycling
and golfing competitions, in addition to being a
preferred destination for weddings, corporate
incentive trips, retreats and impromptu weekend
getaways.
With these features, I can already foresee
that Bintan’s appeal as a tourism spot to grow
exponentially. Tourist arrivals are expected to
increase by 25-30% per year and to reach three
million visitors per year in the next four years. It
is notable that tourist arrivals have doubled from
2014 to 2018.
The optimism is already visible with the
construction of a new purpose-built Bintan
Resorts International Airport, which is expected
to be fully operational by 2022, to serve one
million more visitors to Bintan annually, from all
around the world.
In short, I am confident that it is not only
poised to be a perfect resort home for many, it is
going to notch up the value of the property that
is poised to jump multi-fold in the future as its
presence becomes more prominent, especially in
the global tourism map.
PROPERTY360DIGEST
49