Batam, Batamnews - The appearance of music concerts and art events has now begun to be allowed as the decline in Covid-19 cases. Previously, during the PPKM period, any art activities and music concerts were not permitted.

The Head of the Batam Culture and Tourism Office (Disbudpar), Ardiwinata said, the implementation of art activities and music concerts must refer to the Batam Mayor's Circular Number 56 of 2021.

"Whatever the name of the event, whether it's a music concert, food bazaar, or other art performance, it must still comply with the existed regulations. Efforts to stimulate tourism must still be carried out, but once again there should be no crowd violations," he explained.

Currently, the tourism sector is still trying to reorganize itself, and prepare to welcome tourists. For the initial stage, the focus is still on domestic tourists, this is because the entrance for foreign tourists has not yet been opened.

"How to attract foreign tourists to Batam. So we, together with tourism actors, are initiating events to attract people to Batam. One of them is through the Malay Arts Festival (KSM) which will be held at the end of the year. This is a routine agenda that is expected to attract foreign tourists," he explained.

He added that the government has currently still tried to grow local residents to attend every activity held by both the government and the private sector. This is to provide opportunities for tourism actors to be able to hold events that can attract local tourists to come.

"Yesterday, a food bazaar was held, hopefully, it can help culinary entrepreneurs improve their business. We will facilitate whatever activities are made, in order to increase public interest and purchasing power of course," he said.

Regarding Kenduri Seni Melayu (KSM) activities, his party began to prepare activities with these many people, but still prioritizing health protocols.

"It's still being prepared," he said.