MELAKA: The Melaka government has requested Indonesia to open the Sultan Syarif Kasim II Airport in Pekanbaru, Riau for international flights, especially the Melaka-Pekanbaru route, which has a high demand from health tourists.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Sulaiman Md Ali said Indonesians comprised the biggest number of tourists visiting Melaka in 2019 with a total of 552,813.
"From these numbers, 100,234 people were health tourists out of a total of 136,361 foreign health tourists who sought medical treatment in Melaka.
"This is a big potential as Indonesia is a big market for health tourism and those seeking treatment at the four specialist hospitals in Melaka, with the medical fees being much lower than that of hospitals in Singapore and Jakarta," he said here on Thursday (June 9).
Earlier, Sulaiman officiated at the Melaka State Tourism Festival 2022 and Melaka For Asean Promotion Campaign in Pekanbaru which was attended by Riau governor Dr Syamsuar.
The promotion campaign is especially for the Indonesian community in Riau to travel and explore Melaka at cheaper and attractive prices.
Sulaiman said the campaign offered 42 family travel packages at as low as 200,000 rupiah (RM60.36) per person per day to travel or vacation in Melaka.
"Besides this, entertainment outlets in Melaka are also offering discounts of up to 50% as well as the buy one, get one free ticket offer during this campaign until Dec 31," he said.
Sulaiman also wished Pekanbaru City a Happy 238th Birthday and congratulated leaders in the region who have succeeded in making Pekanbaru the best investment city in Indonesia for five years in a row.
"I hope with continued efforts and closer cooperation with Riau, the bilateral tourist traffic, especially to Pekanbaru will increase the number of bilateral tourist arrivals," he said. - Bernama
