CIDISS. The earthquake that occurred in North Lombok was a natural disaster that not only caused many casualties and injuries, but also had a direct impact on the decrease in the number of tourists visiting the region.
Responding to the situation, the Regent of North Lombok Regency, Najmul Akhyar said the government was in an effort to boost the tourism sector in the North Lombok region after being hit by an earthquake some time ago.
One of the efforts made is to invite 50-100 foreign tourists to come to 3 Gili tours, especially Gili Trawangan. This was done to lure other tourists so that they were not afraid to come to travel to Lombok, considering the tourism sector was an important sector in North Lombok.
His side cooperates with a private fast boat company, Eka Jaya that will cross tourists from Bali Island to 3 Gili tours, namely Gili Trawangan, Gili Air, and Gili Meno by facilitating crossing fees which are considered very cheap, ie IDR 50,000 from Bali to Gili Trawangan. With their arrival later, it will be proof that 3 Gili tours have begun to be visited.
In addition to inviting foreign tourists, Najmul will also roll out other programs, namely revamping tourism infrastructure and generating economic support from the tourism sector such as kiosks, handicrafts and the market has begun to operate again.
Meanwhile, West Nusa Tenggara Province Bank Indonesia (BI) Representative Office Head Achris Sarwani said he hoped Lombok would not be too long economically slumped because the tourism sector in South Lombok was still in good condition.
He also revealed, hopefully with a tourist area that is not too seriously affected by the earthquake could cover economic growth in Lombok as a whole in order to recover quickly.
Hopefully in the future, improvements in tourism infrastructure in North Lombok can be resolved quickly and North Lombok tourism that has become global can again be crowded with local and international tourists.
By: Riko Setiawan *)