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RI to launch Visit Lombok-Sumbawa 2012
West Nusa Tenggara’s Lombok and Sumbawa islands — renowned in particular for their marine tourism — look set to attract more visitors in the coming years, as they gear up for the Visit Lombok-Sumbawa 2012 campaign
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West Nusa Tenggara’s Lombok and Sumbawa islands — renowned in particular for their marine tourism — look set to attract more visitors in the coming years, as they gear up for the Visit Lombok-Sumbawa 2012 campaign.
The Culture and Tourism Ministry’s director general for marketing, Sapta Nirwandar, said Thursday that West Nusa Tenggara province, located just east of Bali, would be a main focus of the ministry’s tourism programs in 2012.
The Visit Lombok-Sumbawa campaign will be launched by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Lombok by the end of the week to mark the beginning of West Nusa Tenggara’s preparations to reach its target of doubling visitor numbers to 1 million by 2012.
“We want to sell tourism in West Nusa Tenggara. We want to make Lombok an established center for the pearl trade and ecotourism,” Sapta said at a press conference in Jakarta.
Often dubbed more pristine and tranquil — and, arguably, more beautiful — versions of the neighboring Bali, Lombok and Sumbawa are home to myriad white sandy beaches and turquoise seawater, as well as rich underwater life.
Lombok in particular is a renowned center for pearl production and trade, and home to Mount Rinjani, the second-highest peak in Indonesia and considered one of the best trekking spots in Asia.
The beauty and natural charms of the two islands, however, have been overshadowed by the worldwide popularity of Bali, due to a lack of promotion.
West Nusa Tenggara Governor Muhammad Zainul Majdi, who also attended Thursday’s press conference, said the plan was not to develop Lombok and Sumbawa as competitors to Bali, but rather as complementary destinations, to provide a more varied set of options to tourists arriving on the Island of the Gods.
He added his province was eyeing Middle East tourists, who currently favored Malaysia as a vacation
destination.
To lure these tourists, the West Nusa Tenggara administration has signed a deal with Dubai-based Emaar Properties, which will invest a total of US$26.6 billion in developing a colossal tourism project in southern Lombok.
Head of the West Nusa Tenggara Tourism Agency, Lalu Gita Ariadi, said the province had been enjoying a steady increase in domestic and foreign visitor numbers in the past few years. In 2008, visitor numbers reached 500,000, almost half of them from overseas.
With a new, bigger airport scheduled to open in 2010, the number of visitors is expected to grow more significantly.
“Our main problem this whole time has been the limited access to the islands. When the new airport opens up, however, we’ll very likely have to revise our target for visitor numbers,” Lalu said, adding the target of 1 million tourists by 2012 had not factored in the influx of visitors the new airport would usher in.
The only direct international flight to the area is from Singapore to Lombok.
Famous Lombok tourist spots include Senggigi Beach, the famous three Gili islands, the West Nusa Tenggara capital Mataram, Mt. Rinjani, Lake Segara Anak and southern Lombok’s Kuta Beach.
Tourist spots in the more secluded Sumbawa Island include Mt. Tambora, Moyo Island, Jelenga Beach and Maluk Beach.
Lombok in particular is a renowned center for pearl production and trade, and home to Mt. Rinjani, the second-highest peak in Indonesia.
