Lombok tourism hopes for speedy post-quake recovery
After safely evacuating more than a thousand hikers trapped on Mount Rinjani after the 6.4 magnitude earthquake that struck Lombok on July 29, authorities have been assessing the damage and its impact on the Indonesian island’s residents and tourism industry.
Three trekking routes to the volcanic mountain, which is popular with tourists, remain closed for an unspecified period. Rangers need to rearrange the routes that were cut off by quake-triggered landslides, and are also evaluating any shaky ground that could be dangerous for trekkers, said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman for the national disaster mitigation agency.
“The area is still experiencing aftershocks which could trigger more landslides, although the intensity continues to weaken, So far there have been 346 aftershocks recorded since the initial earthquake,” Nugroho said.
A total of 1,226 trekkers, including 696 foreigners from 27 countries — Thailand accounted for more than 300 of them — were hiking up the mountain when the earthquake struck. An Indonesian hiker from Makassar in Southeast Sulawesi died on the mountain in a landslide, while a Malaysian hiker who had already descended died after she was struck by falling debris in the house she was staying in.
The Malaysian woman was one of 17 people who died as a result of the quake, while about 160 were treated in local hospitals for injuries.
But how safe is it now for tourists to come to Lombok? The island just east of world-renowned Bali is a popular tourist destination in its own right. The 3,726metre Mount Rinjani, which is the country’s second highest peak, is one of the main attractions in addition to the island’s pristine, pinkish-white sandy beaches.
“Tourism on the island is not affected by the earthquake,” said Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, the coordinating minister of maritime affairs, whose portfolio includes tourism.
Taufan Rahmadi, a local tourism activist, acknowledged that news about the earthquake could discourage foreign visitors but he advised those wishing to come to Lombok to closely look at the map.
“The worst-hit areas are East Lombok and North Lombok districts which lie around the foot of Mount Rinjani, while other areas are safe and life on the island is back to normal,” he told Asia Focus.
Quick response by rescuers and disaster mitigation agency officials to aid those affected is always of paramount importance after a calamity such as an earthquake. But so too is the quick dissemination of information on which areas are affected and which are not, said Rahmadi, who is a member of the Indonesian Tourism Development Corporation and is in charge of Mandalika, a designated tourism spot in southern Lombok.
Mandalika is one of the 10 main tourism destinations across the country that the government is developing in a bid to attract more foreign tourist arrivals. The groundbreaking for development of the 1,175-hectare tourism area was held in 2011 by then-president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
“We have attracted US$500 million worth of investment in Mandalika. The infrastructure there is ready. A resort chain with 400 rooms is under construction there and is set to finish this year, while another one has just started,” Pandjaitan said during a media briefing last Wednesday.
According to the central statistics agency, foreign tourist arrivals to Indonesia in June totalled 1.32 million, an increase of 6.1% from May and 15.2% from the same month last year. Four out of the top five visitor sources were neighbouring countries: Malaysia, Singapore, Timor Leste and Australia.
Indonesia welcomed 7.53 million foreign tourists from January to June, an increase of 13.1% from the same period last year. The momentum is expected to continue given that the country is the site of two major international events: the Asian Games this month and the IMF-World Bank annual meeting in October.
Pandjaitan said the government expected to welcome 20 million foreign tourist arrivals next year and the tourism sector was expected to generate at least $7.5 billion in revenue to the state budget.
“The worst-hit areas are East Lombok and North Lombok districts which lie around the foot of Mount Rinjani, while other areas are safe and life on the island is back to normal” TAUFAN RAHMADI Local tourism activist