Seaplane Asia Group CEO Dennis Keller and Santai Seaplane CEO Wirmandi Sugriat recently held a high-level strategic meeting with Indonesia's Minister of Tourism Widiyanti Putri Wardhana and Deputy Minister for Marketing, Ministry of Tourism Ni Made Ayu Marthini. The discussions focused on widening regional tourism access and establishing a national framework of water landing sites, starting with Bali (Benoa), Lombok (Sira Beach and Mandalika), Labuan Bajo, Kangean, North Maluku and Lake Toba, with additional hubs and locations to follow.

Santai Seaplane, a subsidiary of Seaplane Asia and Indonesia's new premier amphibious aviation provider, is building the air network Indonesia's geography has always called for: direct, point-to-point access between primary hubs and the coastal and island destinations that runways cannot reach.

For Indonesia's tourism, this opens an opportunity to encourage travellers to go beyond established gateways and explore more of the archipelago. By connecting primary hubs with less accessible coastal and island destinations, Santai Seaplane's network can open up more ways for travellers to discover Indonesia's nature, culture and local experiences.

“Indonesia's vast archipelagic geography demands innovative, flexible transportation solutions. Partnering with Santai Seaplane allows us to seamlessly bridge remote coastal destinations with primary hubs, unlocking new frontiers for high-value tourism and driving long-term economic growth for our island communities,” says Minister of Tourism Widiyanti Putri Wardhana.

Santai Seaplane will commence initial operations from Bali and the surrounding destinations in 2026, flying a fully certified amphibious Cessna Caravan aircraft in full company livery. A programme of demonstration flights will introduce the aircraft to destination and industry partners, including a VIP demonstration flight in Labuan Bajo in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, showcasing the seamless transition from airport take-off to water landing.

The collaboration extends to the aircraft themselves. At the Ministry's invitation, Santai Seaplane will carry Indonesia's official ‘Wonderful Indonesia’ branding across its fleet, placing the national tourism mark on every sector it flies and on the coastlines it opens up. The Ministry also encouraged route development in the Mentawai Islands, improving access ahead of a major West Sumatra culinary conference next year.

Beyond improving access, the partnership can support Indonesia's shift toward quality tourism by making it easier for travellers to build richer, multi-destinations journeys for travellers to stay longer, discover more experiences and extend tourism opportunities to more destinations and local communities.