SYNERGY AMONG STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISES KEY TO SUPPORTING LOMBOK TOURISM by Fardah

Jakarta, Jan 30, 2017 (Antara) - Lombok, one of West Nusa Tenggara's islands, has been referred to as the new Bali owing to its beautiful beaches and natural scenery, in general.     
     Located just east of Bali, Lombok Island has also been called "the unspoiled Bali" for its alluring white sandy beaches, waterfalls, the large looming volcano of Mount Rinjani, and relatively fewer tourists.     
     The Senggigi Beach, for instance, offers picturesque views of Mount Agung on Bali Island to the west and stunning sunsets, with the volcano silhouetted on the horizon.

          The island was adjudged the best Halal tourism and honeymoon destination at the World Halal Travel Awards 2015 held in Abu Dhabi, the UAE, in October last year. The event was held in conjunction with the World Halal Travel Summit 2015. 
     The Indonesian government has designated Lombok as one of the 10 priority tourist destinations along with other regions, such as Lake Toba in North Sumatra, Flores in East Nusa Tenggara, Raja Ampat in West Papua, Borobudur in Yogyakarta, and Mount Bromo in Central Java.

          The step aims to help achieve the government's target of attracting 20 million foreign tourists by 2020.

          To support the government's program, State-owned Enterprises (BUMN) Minister Rini Soemarno has established synergy among 118 state-owned companies to support development of the tourism industry in the Mandalika area in Lombok District.

          "Synergy among BUMN in Mandalika is aimed at developing tourism and the Special Economic Zone (KEK) through the 'BUMN Present for the Country' program," Minister Soemarno stated in the Mandalika Beach area on January 27, 2017.

          Mandalika is a tourist destination located in Praya, Central Lombok, and situated within the KEK.

          During the event known as "Together to Mandalika and Working for Indonesia" and held in Tanjung Aan, Bukit Meresek, Ende, and Sembalun Villages, Rinjani, Minister Soemarno handed over Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds amounting to Rp9.5 billion for development of the area.

          The funds are expected to support tourism development and boost the economy of the local community.

          The ministry has assigned Indonesia's flag carrier PT Garuda Indonesia as coordinator to establish synergy for Mandalika.   
     Meanwhile, Garuda Indonesia donated funds worth Rp280 million from its CSR program to Lombok for tourism, educational, and environmental preservation purposes.

          The funding was part of the total Rp9.5 billion of CSR funds collected from 23 BUMN for Lombok, Arif Wibowo, president director of Garuda Indonesia, stated.

          The funds from Garuda will be utilized to release baby hawksbill sea turtles in the sea, among other things, he added.    
     "The release of the baby sea turtles is expected to help preserve the turtle habitat in Lombok as well as contribute to providing opportunities for economic development of the Lombok community through ecotourism," Wibowo stated.

          The baby turtles, aged 1.5 years, were bred in Gili Nangu-Sekotong, West Lombok.

          Soemarno lauded Garuda for releasing 100 turtles on the coast of Senggigi Beach.

          "May the release of the turtles also serve as an example to encourage other state-owned companies to undertake environmental conservation efforts, particularly to conserve turtles whose numbers are declining," she said.

          Moreover, Garuda has provided scholarships to students of Mandalika Village for training in ticketing and ground handling.

          The scholarships were granted to demonstrate Garuda's commitment to honing the potential of the young generation in the tourism sector, particularly in the aerospace industry.

          The provision of these scholarships is expected to generate skilled workforce that is ready to work in the tourism and airline sectors. 
    Besides, the Indonesia Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) has planned to build a street race circuit in the Mandalika Special Economic Zone (KEK) to boost tourism in Central Lombok.

            "The street race circuit in Mandalika would become the first in the world to offer the beautiful scenery of a lagoon, solar cell farm, golf course, commercial area, urban area, and views of the Indian Ocean," President Director of ITDC Abdulbar M. Mansoer stated.

         Mansoer noted that the circuit will be surrounded by hills where visitors can witness the races while enjoying the views of the sea.

            "The signing of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) would be followed by the designing phase in the next few months, and further plans are in place to hold the Grand Prix Mandalika in 2019," he explained.

            The MoU was signed on Jan 20 between ITDC and the Roadgrip Motosports UK Ltd and Mrk1 Consulting, two companies that design, develop, and operate global motor racing circuits.

            The Mandalika circuit will be built in accordance with international standards set for motor races, Mansoer added.

          In the meantime, Secretary of the BUMN Ministry Imam A. Putro stated that the development and promotion of tourism should be active and sustainable.

          "BUMNs have been encouraged to ensure synergy to accelerate the development of tourism destinations in the maritime area, which is also known as the best location for halal tourism in the world as well as for cruise tourism," he affirmed.

    (f001/INE)
EDITED BY INE

(T.F001/A/BESSR/F. Assegaf) 30-01-2017