REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BATAM -- The first batch of 101 foreign tourists arrived via speedboats in the Riau Islands provincial city of Batam on January 1, 2015.
They arrived at the Sekupang international harbor on Thursday, at about 7:35 a.m. Western Indonesia Standard time (WIB) and were welcomed by officials of Batam's tourist office, the immigration office, and the local police.
Koo Ja Wuu of South Korea, one of the 101 tourists who set foot in Batam harbor, received garlands, tourist guide books to Batam, and a box of breakfast from the Batam administration.
"I am very delighted to be the first tourist in 2015," Koo stated, adding that he frequently visited Batam in 2014, nearly twice a month for playing golf.
Koo, who is currently working in Singapore, plans to stay in Batam for four days, especially to play golf.
In the meantime, Patrick, one of the Singaporean tourists, said he preferred visiting Batam on the first day of 2015.
Batam's city government has set a target of drawing some 1.512 million tourists during 2015, or up by about eight percent as compared to that in 2014.
Moreover, the central government has set a target of 10 million tourist arrivals in 2015 and 20 million by 2019.
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