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Hotel occupancy percentage in Lombok still high amid low season
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An image of Lombok landscape. When the weather has cleared up, travelers may gain a pleasant diving experience in Lombok or Gili Islands area in the West Nusa Tenggara. (Shutterstock/File)
T
hroughout the months of September until October this year, the hotel occupancy percentage in Lombok, specifically in Senggigi area has reached the 80-90 percent mark.
The period between September up to October is considered as a low season in the tourism industry.
“Currently, the occupancy percentage of hotels in Senggigi is above 80 percent. At Kila Hotel, it reaches 90 percent,” said Kila Hotel general manager Erik Tumbeleka, who also heads the Indonesia Hotel General Manager Association (IHGMA) Lombok chapter.
According to Central Statistics Agency (BPS) in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), there were 97,060 people who stayed at hotels in NTB in August 2017, up 36.11 percent from July that welcomed 71,311 visitors and up 33.89 percent from August last year that welcomed 72,494 visitors.
Read also: 10 must-try traditional dishes in Lombok
Malaysia contributed the highest number of overseas tourists in August with 4,611 tourists. The second spot was given to China with 1,119 people and in the third spot was South Korea with 799 people.
“There are direct flights that travel from South Korea to Lombok,” said BPS NTB head, Endang Tri Wahyuningsih.
However, as of October 9, Korean Air has ended its charter flight service to Lombok International Airport for 2017.
The NTB tourism department head Mohamad Faozal said that Korean Air had brought in thousands of Korean tourists in the span of four months. The NTB provincial administration is currently trying to increase the number of charter flights for 2018.
Faozal moreover said that Korean tourists' interests include going to the beach and visiting traditional houses.
“NTB has plenty of beaches, waterfalls and traditional houses for Korean tourists to visit,” Faozal said. (asw)
