LEARNING FROM MALAYSIA

Instead of going to Bali the Riau Islands province is keen to learn how to develop its tourism sector from Malaysia. The Riau Islands Tourism Division head Rahman Osman said they would increase cooperation with Malaysia in order to realise their aim. "The same sun shines over both places but how is it that Malaysia can attract more than 18 million tourists annually and Indonesia only about seven million. According to my observation we have more tourism products, so we need to study Malaysia's method of promoting their products," he told Bernama at Daik, Lingga here. The Riau Islands, situated east of Sumatera, is more than 75,000 km square and has a population exceeding six million. He also invited private companies from Malaysia and other Asean countries to invest in tourism in Pulau Benan, which is considered the gateway for Lingga's tourism sector. This is perhaps a better option for our tourism investors.