Selangor - Batam to Boost Tourism Ties

(L-R) from second-left Exco Tourism Selangor Y.B Puan Gan Pei Nei, Director for MICE and Special Interest Promotion at the Ministry for Indonesia Tourism  Ibu Rizki Handayani Mustafa; the Head of Tourism of Riau Islands Province Bapak Guntur Sakti; dan General Manager of Selangor Tourism Pn. Noorul Ashikin bte Mohd Din.

Tourism Selangor (TSSB) together with Indonesia Ministry of Tourism and Batam View Beach Resort connects businesses from the state of Selangor and Indonesia in a B2B Table Top discussion.

Held at the Batam View Beach Resort, the programme starting from 15 to 17 November is headed by YB Madam Gan Pei Nei, Deputy Chairman of Selangor’s Committee of Tourism, Environment, Green Technology and Consumer Affairs.

The event at the famous Batam Island provides 17 participants that came from various travel agencies, government agencies, hoteliers, health and wellness operators, and education sections in Selangor (sellers) to connect with travel industry associates from Indonesia (buyers). Each seller will be give one presentation slot for a total of five minutes to give to the tourism agencies present at the event.

Tourism Selangor has arranged three sessions for the business event – including a Government to Goverment (G to G) Table Talk session with Tourism Indonesia about the direction and goals of tourism between Selangor and Indonesia. The event’s highlight is the B2B Table Top between Selangor and Indonesia’s tourism agencies and a visit around Batam Island as part of the tourism product. 

Some of the key persons attending from Indonesia Tourism are Ibu Rizky Handayani, Director for MICE and Special Interest Promotion at the Ministry for Tourism and Creative Economy, Bapak Guntur Sakti, the Head of Tourism of Riau Islands Province, and stakeholders in hospitality industry such as resorts, aviation, golf courses and travel agents.

The three day B2B Table Top event include business minded individuals of various companies from Aceh, Western Sumatra, Riau Islands, Jakarta, and Jogjakarta.

“Selangor’s tourism industry still has a lot of potential for development and can be explored even further, particularly with our counterparts here in Indonesia.  In our quest to be an active and thriving tourism industry, we at Tourism Selangor and the Selangor government are supportive of all efforts by our local industry players to develop the attractive products available at our home,” said YB Madam Gan Pei Nei, Deputy Chairman of Selangor’s Committee of Tourism, Environment, Green Technology and Consumer Affairs.

B2B session between Selnagor and Indonesia in Bunga Mawar Room, Batam View Beach Resort

The three-day visitation was filled with trails of programs. On the first day the Selangor delegation visited some of the tourism hot-spots in Batam, such as Destination Nongsa, Golden City in Bengkong area, and Megamall in Batam Centre.

With at least 1,4 million foreign visitors, Batam Island is a promising destination for Malaysian market. Its strategic location next to the neighboring busy Singapore are very accessible, with 4 international ferry ports and one international airport made the island Indonesia's third largest contributor for foreign tourist, after Bali and Jakarta.

The meeting was also aimed to introduce Batam Island to Malaysian market, get them up close and experience the attractions it offers, from shopping, golf-destination, resort, among many. It was expected to start increasing the traffic between Selangor and Batam, besides the direct flight that connected them ease and catalyze growth in the near future.

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Awal Sebuah Kehidupan

Aku, Rheina, Hazil.

Kami bertiga menyusuri sebuah lorong panjang tak berujung. Kami dimabukkan oleh permainan warna yang menghiasi sisi-sisi lorong. Begitu pudar, berpendar, gairah yang sangat nyata tersirat dalam warna-warna yang terus bergerak. Seakan mengikuti kami bertiga…ya…menyusuri lorong ini.

Aku bisa merasakan Rheina ingin pulang ke rumah secepat mungkin, karena takut ibunya memarahinya habis-habisan dan tidak mengijinkannya makan malam bersama saudara-saudaranya yang lain.

Aku bisa merasakan Hazil terbebas dari belenggu yang mengungkungnya selama ini. Aku merasakan ketidaktahuanku atas semua yang aku alami…lorong..warna yang tidak henti berganti…perasaan sahabatku…Kohesivitas emosi di antara kami bertiga.

Aku menggigil kedinginan…

“Kenapa?” Rheina mengambil sebuah safir di bawah kakinya.

“Dingin.” jawabku singkat

Sementara Hazil berjalan di depan kami. Bahkan setengah berlari.

“Kenapa kita ada di sini?” Rhiena terlihat bingung, “Aku harus pulang.”

“Kita telah sampai,” Hazil berteriak, memberi instruksi agar kami berjalan mengikutinya.

Ya. Kami sudah sampai. Begitu banyak pilar berdiri tegak menyambut kedatangan kami. Terkesan menakutkan.

“Di sinilah kita bertiga harus memilih,” Hazil menunjuk ke deretan pilar-pilar itu. Memang Hazillah yang mengajakku dan Rhiena untuk masuk ke lorong ini. Dari mana kami memasukinya, kami tidak tahu. Hazillah yang selalu mendengungkan kebebasan kepada kami, yang akan kami temukan hanya dengan memasuki lorong ini.

“Kita bertiga akan bebas…dan dari sinilah kehidupan kita mulai,” tanpa menoleh kepada kami ia bergegas memasuki deretan pilar itu.

Tidak ada salam perpisahan atau hal semacam itu dari Hazil. Aku bisa merasakan Rheina ingin pulang secepat mungkin.

“Apakah aku bisa pulang ke rumah lewat pilar itu?” ia kelihatan gelisah.

“Mungkin,” jawabku ragu, benar-benar ragu.

“Kita akan berpisah di sini?”lanjutnya

“Mungkin. Atau kita akan bertemu di balik pilar itu.”

“Setelah kita memasukinya?” dari dulu ia memang sering bertanya.

“Bye,” aku mengucapkan salam perpisahan padanya. Rheina memelukku.

“Kita akan bertemu di sana. Dan juga Hazil.” ia mencoba meyakinkan diri.

Aku memasuki salah satu pilar. Dan sebuah lorong panjang terbentang menyambutku. Aku melihat segala sesuatu yang belum pernah kulihat selama ini. Kupandangi sekelilingku. Terasa asing semua ini bagiku.

“Apa yang harus aku lakukan?”tanyaku dalam hati.

“Kita akan bebas...” kata-kata Hazil terlintas di benakku.

Aku tahu. Ya. Aku tidak harus melakukan sesuatu atau tidak melakukan sesuatu.

“Dan dari sinilah kehidupan kita dimulai.” Aku bisa mendengar Hazil berbisik di telingaku. Aku berpaling ke belakang. Tak seorang pun di sana. Aku sendiri.

“Benar, kau sendiri!” suara Hazil terdengar di seluruh lorong.

“Dan aku bebas,” kataku spontan, ”dan dari sinilah kehidupanku dimulai.” Aku mengulangi kata-kata Hazil.

Terdengar olehku tawa Rheina, dan Hazil, tawa kami bertiga. Di lorong panjang tiada batas…yang menyambut kami.

*pernah dimuat di https://blog.djarumbeasiswaplus.org/ranggayanwar/ 

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10th Nongsa Cup 2015 Golf Tournament: "Drink & Drive" in the Tropical Night

(L-R) Mr.Anddy Fong, GM Batam View Beach Resort presented the Best Gross Overall trophy to Khozim (second-left), along with Ms. Enly (GM Tering Bay Golf) and Mr. Steven Japari (GM Palm Springs Golf) during Nongsa Cup 2015

Alohaaa...Nongsa Cup is back! This year is the 10th time the one-of-the-most-anticipated golf tournament in the region is held. This year the tournament took "Drink & Drive" as he tagline in which the golfer will have some fun while competing during the tournament. Around 250 golfers from Singapore, Malaysia, Belgium, the UK, South Africa, Australia, Japan and South Korea joined this event

For the tenth consecutive year, Nuevo Vino took part as the main sponsor of the event. Not to mention, the endorsement by the Ministry of Tourism helped boost the publicity and stronger reputation of the tournament amongst the golfer in the region. It was started by the shotgun (balloon release) in the two golf courses, Palm Springs Golf & Beach Resort and Tering Bay Golf & Country Club.

The Gala Dinner was at the Poolside area of Batam View Beach Resort with "Tropical Night" taken as the theme. The Dinner was attended by the representative of Nuevo Vino as the main sponsor for the ten consecutive years, the representative of the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Indonesia which also endorse and support this year's event, Bapak Guntur Sakti as the Head of Tourism Department of Riau Islands Province, colleagues from Destination Nongsa, media, and--of course--the participants.

"Tropical Night" as the main theme for Nongsa Cup Gala Dinner 2015

Live band performance, caddy dancers, magician are among the line-up during dinner. And of course, the Grand Lucky Draw with the first prize of IDR20,050,000 (equal SGD2,015.00) was waiting for the lucky one. Ong Hock See, Singaporean golfer was the lucky one to bring home the cash money of the grand lucky draw. The winner announcement took place at Palm Springs Golf & Beach Resort on 9 November 2015. Indonesian golfer, Khozim, came as the Best Gross Overall.

Jointly organized by Batam View, Palm Spings, Tering Bay and BatamFast, Nongsa Cup is one of golf events promoting Batam Island as golf paradise in the region. With all the supports and commitment, the golf tournament has gained popularity and strong reputation year by year and attracted more golfers to challenge themselves.

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