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Stimulus for tourism sector a panacea?
The whole industry is on life support and without quick and effective action will collapse. The critical mass of facilities needed to attract tourists will disappear.
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Virus woes: Tourists visit the Bajra Sandi monument in Denpasar on Jan. 29. Tourist arrivals to the island of Bali have decreased significantly in the wake of the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. (JP/Zul Trio Anggono)
T
he Indonesian government has just announced a package of measures to support the tourist industry in Indonesia. This follows the predictions of a pandemic from the new coronavirus (COVID-19). The announcement of the package was leading edge and the government is to be congratulated on getting ahead of the game.
To say that the Indonesian tourist industry has been buffeted over the past 20 years is a gross understatement. Just dealing with Lombok where I have a hotel and restaurant, the non-exhaustive list of catastrophic occurrences is mind blowing.
The 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York, the invasion of Iraq, the 2008 financial crash, the Bali terrorist bombings, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), bird flu, the Mount Agung volcanic eruption, tsunamis, the Mt. Rinjani volcanic eruption, the devastating 2018 earthquakes and now the coronavirus.
After each of these disasters people in the tourist industry picked themselves up and struggled on with an attitude of “Well surely nothing else can go wrong”. Well, we were wrong.
Tourism in Lombok and Indonesia at large is a disaster full stop. In Senggigi, where I have a hotel, the streetscape is still pockmarked with earthquake rubble. Ten hotels are closed or on care and maintenance. I have closed the Garden restaurant until after Idul Fitri in May of this year.
The whole industry is on life support and without quick and effective action will collapse. The critical mass of facilities needed to attract tourists will disappear.
Having said that, of course the underlying attractions of Lombok are still here. The natural beauty, the beaches, the easily accessible waterfalls, the white water rafting, climbing Mt. Rinjani, walking the Great Lombok trail, diving, chilling, etc.
