International Airport Status Revoked, Lake Toba Area Loses Potential for Foreign Tourists

Tourists from Singapore and Malaysia must transit in Jakarta with a flight of more than 5 hours plus transit time.

KOMPAS/NIKSON SINAGA

Tourists were seen engaging in activities at Silangit International Airport, North Tapanuli Regency, North Sumatra on Saturday (9/10/2021). Silangit Airport serves as a support for Lake Toba tourism.

MEDAN, KOMPAS — tourism actors regret the revocation of international status from Silangit Airport which is the main support< /a> regional tourism Lake Toba. As a national tourism strategic area, airport policies should be studied more deeply and cannot be compared to other airports.

"The revocation of international status from Silangit Airport causes the Lake Toba area to lose the potential visits of foreign tourists from three of the largest transit countries in Southeast Asia, namely Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand," said Chairman of the Indonesian Tourism Industry Association (ASPPI) of Samosir Regency, Ombang Siboro, on Saturday (May 4, 2024).

With status as a domestic airport, Silangit Airport now only serves return flights from Jakarta to Silangit. Previously, Silangit Airport served Kuala Lumpur-Silangit and Singapore-Silangit flights. The route has been closed since Covid-19. Silangit is one of 17 airports whose international status was revoked by the Ministry of Transportation.

Direct flights from Singapore and Kuala Lumpur to Silangit with a travel time of less than one hour are a great potential. In Singapore, according to Ombang, there are 450,000 expatriates (foreign workers). The airport also serves as a transit airport for foreign tourists from several countries who want to travel to Southeast Asia.

Also read: Toba Caldera Accepted as Member of UNESCO Global Geopark

KOMPAS/WISNU WIDIANTORO

Silangit Airport, Siborong-Borong, North Tapanuli Regency, North Sumatra, on Monday (20/6/2017). This airport serves as the closest gateway to reach Lake Toba.

"In the road map for developing the Lake Toba area, foreign tourists from Singapore are the main target for Lake Toba tourism. "However, all of that disappeared with the revocation of international airport status," he said.

Currently, according to Ombang, foreign tourists from Singapore or Kuala Lumpur have to transit in Jakarta first before flying to Silangit. A flight that should take less than an hour is multiplied to more than five hours.

As a domestic airport, the Silangit Airport network is very limited as there are no more direct flights from Medan to Silangit. If domestic flights from Medan to Silangit are opened, flight times from Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand could be faster as they would transit through Kualanamu Airport.

Ombang requested that the Ministry of Transportation evaluate the policy of revoking the international airport status of Silangit Airport. He requested that there be a special policy for Silangit Airport as it supports Lake Toba, which is one of five national super-priority destinations.

When it was still serving international flights, many foreign tourists from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, South Korea, and European countries visited the area of Lake Toba. Passenger occupancy rates on that flight route were still very low. However, according to him, this issue should be addressed by intensifying promotion in target countries. Destinations in the region should also be improved. The three main pillars of the tourism sector are attractions, amenities, and accessibility.

"And the government has closed one of them, namely access," said Ombang.

Not significant

Meanwhile, the Head of North Sumatra Department of Culture and Tourism, Zumri Sulthony, stated that revoking the international status of Silangit Airport does not have a significant impact on Lake Toba tourism. "In recent years, there have been no international flights to Silangit Airport," said Zumri.

According to him, access to Lake Toba is still quite open through the Jakarta-Silangit domestic flight route. He mentioned that Jakarta is supported by direct flights from several countries. Meanwhile, tourists from Singapore or Malaysia can fly directly to Kualanamu Airport in Deli Serdang Regency.

KOMPAS/NIKSON SINAGA

The racers competed fiercely in the spint race round of the Formula 1 Motorboat World Championship (F1H2O) in Balige, Toba Regency, North Sumatra, Saturday (2/3/2024).

From Kualanamu, tourists can continue their journey by land to the Lake Toba area through the toll road that has been operating from Medan to Tebing Tinggi. Currently, the Kuala Tanjung-Tebing Tinggi-Parapat (Kutepat) toll road is also being built so that access to Lake Toba can be even better.

In the roadmap for the development of the Lake Toba area, foreign tourists from Singapore are the main target for Lake Toba tourism. However, all of that disappeared with the revocation of the international airport status.

Previously, the Ministry of Transportation streamlined 34 international airports to only 17. This is stipulated in Ministerial Decree No. 31/2024 concerning the Designation of International Airports on April 2, 2024.

Ministry of Transportation spokesperson Adita Irawati said this streamlining was aimed at protecting post-pandemic international flights. The Ministry of Transportation is designing international hub airports and feeders to be in their own country (Kompas.id,17/4/2024).

"The arrangement of airports in general, including international airports, will continue to be evaluated on an ongoing basis," said Adita.

He stated that domestic airports can still temporarily serve international flights, especially those related to national affairs, international events, hajj embarkation and disembarkation, supporting national economic growth, as well as disaster management.

Also read: Government Revokes International Status of 17 Airports