TOUR DE LOMBOK MANDALIKA TO PROMOTE LOMBOK AS A SPORT TOURISM DESTINATION by Fardah

Jakarta, April 7, 2018 (Antara) - West Nusa Tenggara is currently gearing up for the 2018 Tour de Lombok Mandalika (TdLM) international cycling event to be held in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Province, from April 13 to 15.

         The TdLM, combining tourism and sport events, is expected to promote Lombok Island as an international-class sport tourism destination, after the island has been awarded as  the best halal tourism and honeymoon destination during the World Halal Travel Awards 2015 held in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates.

          At least 18 cycling teams from 18 countries have confirmed their participation in the race. They will come from Malaysia, Japan, Australia, Kazakhstan, and China. Indonesia's national team will also take part in the event.

          "Today, we have launched the plan to organize TdLM 2018, and at the same time, we have announced the cycling race route," Lalu Mohammad Faozal, head of the NTB tourism office, stated during the launch in Lombok on April 1, 2018.    
    The TdLM, which has been classified by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) as a 2.2 category race, is divided into three stages.

        The first stage is Kuta Mandalika-Mataram City, spanning 84.4 kilometers. It will start from Kuta Beach located in the Special Economic Zone (KEK) of Mandalika and finish in the NTB Governor Office in Mataram City.

        The participating cyclists will pass through Sasak traditional kampongs in Sade and Ende in Central Lombok, beaches, and rice fields.

          The third stage is a circuit in Mataram City, at a distance of 110 kilometers. The start and finish lines will be in Sangkareang Park. The route includes Ampenan beach and Ampenan old city.

         Faozal is optimistic that TdLM will serve as an effective promotion to attract foreign and domestic tourists.

          Winners of the TdLM 2018 will receive UCI points and prizes worth Rp350 million. 
    He noted that TdLM 2017 was a success, and therefore, the Okio team from Japan, who became the overall winner last year, will again participate this year.

        Comprising Lombok and Sumbawa Islands, as well as hundreds of smaller ones, NTB Province is blessed with beautiful white-sand beaches, forest-covered mountainous areas, and a distinct culture.

          NTB, which is located not far from Bali and scenically no less beautiful than Bali, hopes to attract 3.5 million foreign tourists by 2017 and 4 million by 2018.

          To lure more tourists, the province, however, does not want to rely only on its natural beauty.

          NTB should enrich and diversify its tourism attractions, including by offering interesting and challenging sport tourism events, Governor of West Nusa Tenggara, M. Zainul Majdi, has reiterated.

          For the purpose, the NTB administration has organized several sport-based tourism events, such as the Lombok Marathon, Sumbawa Ultra Run, Rinjani Ultra Run, the Tambora Challenge 320 K marathon, and an international cycling, and TdLM.

        Indonesia is currently carrying out a mega development project awaiting more investors in the Mandalika Special Economic Zone located in Central Lombok, NTB. The 1,177-hectare-large tourism project is expected to be completed in September 2018.

          Mandalika is among Indonesia's 10 priority tourist destinations, including Lake Toba in North Sumatra, Tanjung Lesung in Banten, Borobudur Temple in Central Java, Mount Bromo in East Java, Wakatobi national marine park in Southeast Sulawesi, Labuan Bajo in East Nusa Tenggara, and Morotai Island in North Maluku.            
      Participated in by 15 foreign teams and four domestic teams, the first TdLM was inaugurated by Majdi on April 13, 2017. The race comprised four stages, covering a total distance of 485 kilometers.

        He was optimistic that the tour's foreign participants would become "tourism envoys" of NTB, because they would help promote the province in their respective countries if they are satisfied with the implementation of the race.    
   The foreign teams came from 22 countries, namely the Netherlands, Germany, Laos, Thailand, Switzerland, Australia, Spain, Japan, France, South Korea, Luxembourg, Kazakhstan, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Colombia, Italy, Mongolia, and China.

         The organizers of the race have provided a total prize amount of Rp800 million for the winners.

         Vice President of the Indonesian Cycling Federation, M. Benny Subagia, expressed hoped that the TdLM could grow into a much larger international event in the next years and invite as well as inspire more local riders.

         The Indonesian government has encouraged regional administrations to organize international cycling events at national as well as local levels, so that domestic and foreign participants could have a close encounter with the country's beautiful nature. ***1***
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EDITED BY INE
(T.F001/A/BESSR/F. Assegaf) 07-04-2018