SUARAJATIM.CO.ID- Efforts to evacuate tourists from Gili Trawangan, Gili Air, Gili Meno will be completed today, August 6, 2018. That is a shared commitment, Tourism Minister of Tourism, Arief Yahya; Minister of Transportation, Budi Karya Sumadi and Head of National Search and Rescue Agency, Marskal Muda TNI M Syaugi.
“Yes, it is true. Transporting tourists from Gili to Lombok Island is expected to be completed today. Please be patient, some ships with bigger capacity are starting to approach Gili, “explained Minister Arief Yahya who continued to monitor from Jakarta.
What is the impact of the earthquake on Lombok and Bali tourism? The numbers are unpredictable, because they still focus on the process of evacuating tourists and ensuring 3A, access, amenity and attractions are in place.
“However, if from the experience of last year’s Mount Agung eruption, the impact is about 1 million foreign tourists had canceled their visit to Indonesia, then the impact of the Lombok earthquake disaster is estimated at 100,000 tourists are predicted will be cancelling their visit to Indonesia,” said Minister Arief.
The way we calculate, the ratio of foreign tourists in Bali compared to Lombok is 5 to 1. Then the duration of the Bali and Lombok disasters is around 2:1. “So the impact of the Lombok earthquake disaster is around 1/10 or 10 percent of the impact of the Bali Mount Agung eruption which numbers 1 million or around 100 thousand, “said Minister Arief Yahya again.
Many also ask, how many tourists are leaving or evacuated from Lombok?
“We are now focusing on evacuating tourists from Gili islands. The total number of residents and tourists on the Gilis is around 1,000. 300 tourists had been evacuated (official Government figures: 358), “said Minister Arief Yahya again. Then what are the government’s steps to restore tourism in Lombok and Bali? How to restore the confidence of world tourists to travel to Lombok?
Disasters can occur everywhere in the world. There are natural disasters, there are also due to riots, including terrorism. “The most important thing is how we provide services related to the disaster,” said Tourism Minister, the marketing expert.
There are 3 things to do. First, to provide the most up to date information continuously, so there is no panic occur, especially official information. Second, providing the Best Service to tourists, especially related to transportation and accommodation access. And thirdly, related to the restoration of tourism destinations after the disaster has ended, related to attractions, access and accommodation.
If you look at the experience of the time of the Lombok Earthquake, last Sunday, July 29, those three things were handled well by the West Nusa Tenggara Provincial Government, Lombok Poltekpar, Lombok Tourism Industry and Ministry of Tourism. “As a result, tourists, especially from Malaysia and Thailand, they love Lombok even more,” said Arief Yahya who had been named as MarkPlus’s Marketeer of the Year 2013.
The philosophy is, provide even far beyond people’s expectations. When we are helping people who are in desperate need of help, and it’s above their expectations, they will not forget us for life. (*)
