Published on March 16, 2015
The island of Bintan in the Riau Archipelago harbors a surprisingly large number of tourist attractions : from sparkling beaches, pristine islands, to superb all-inclusive resorts like the Nirwana Garden Resort, Bintan Lagoon Resort, Bintan Agro Resort, and the Sahid Raya Bintan that offer complete sports facililties, spa, and a variety of cuisines in many upscale restaurants. On Bintan one can take a boat and follow the river upstream to experience the thrill of a mangrove forest twinkling with fireflies. There are also fantastic golf courses, meeting facilities and many more.
To showcase the large variety of tourism and investment potentials on the island of Bintan, the District Government of Bintan in the Province of the Riau Archipelago, has built the Bintan Expo Center in mid 2014, located at Jalan Ahmad Yani, in the city of Tanjung Pinang. Strategicallysited near crowded and well frequented areas, the center was initially meant for limited public viewing, but on account of its popularity, the local government decided to open Bintan Expo Center to the public as a Tourism and Investment Information Center.
Upon entering Bintan Expo Center you will be welcomed by an attractive gallery featuring the many attractions of the District. In the central area you will see displayed pictures of the luxuriious resorts here, golf courses, as well as information on development plans of the region. Additionally, there are portrayed other potentials such as in agriculturual crops and livestock farming. There is also a maquette of Bintan measuring 5×5 meters, as well as replicas of the District’s mascot, which is the dugong. You will also see a statue of a 1.25 meter high dugong weighing around 50 kg, with as background a large picture of different underwater life, resembling a sea world fantasy.
Here you will pass a tunnel that gives visitors the impression like being under the sea , where the half domed roof shows a blue sky with white clouds giving the feeling as if one has the clear blue sky above and azure sea below. While on both sides are panels providing information on the District’s many tourist destinations and attractions and the various economic potentials and investment opportunities.
Bintan Expo Center was indeed planned to attract and provide information to investors and international domestic visitors as well as the general public. The architect of the building was an official of the Bintan Public Works. Regent of Bintan District, Ansar Ahmad, was inspired to build the Bintan Expo Center when he was on a visit to China, where investors and international visitors were welcomed to the district in an exhibition hall.
Next to the exhibition hall are offices, meeting rooms, a small theater for 42 persons, a cantine and a prayer room. The theater is often used by school children on study tour, where they can see the many potentials of the district of Bintan through short films. While the Expo’s parking lot is also often used for small exhibitions such as an exhibition on semi-precious stones, and others.
Bintan Expo Center is open daily from 08.00 hrs to 16.00 hours.
