Spotlight on Lombok ? As a top Halal traveldestination in Indonesia

Indonesia highlighted Lombok’s recoveryfrom July earthquakes by giving participants at ITB-Asia’s Muslim TravelPavilion a taste of Lombok’s featured attractions. Held in Singapore, theITB-Asia’s Muslim Travel Pavilion celebrated its inaugural year at ITB-Asia.The pavilion hosted an assortment of panel discussions on Halal travel, andoffered participants a variety of country showcases.

Indonesia’s destination showcase inspiredwith the tagline “Rise Lombok,” which is part of a larger effort to put the spotlighton Lombok’s position as a top Halal travel destination after emerging fromrecent earthquakes. Communicating to the world that Lombok is safe for touristsand open for business, the “Rise Lombok” campaign focuses on key Lombokattractions that are already welcoming visitors.

Riyanto Sofyan, chairman of the Team forAccelerated Development of Halal Tourism of the Ministry of Tourism of theRepublic of Indonesia, believes that now is the time to get the word out aboutLombok’s vitality.

“We’re letting the world know that Lombokis back, with many events scheduled for this month as well as the foreseeablefuture. We’re also reminding tourists that Lombok’s attractions are enhanced byits beautiful scenery, a trove of adventure activities, and too many culturalimmersion opportunities to count.”

Sofyan notes that the Ministry of Tourismis spreading its message far and wide. “In order to spread the word, we’reorganizing Fam trips to Lombok for travel agents and influencers targeting theGCC, including representatives from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, andKuwait.”

Voluntourism is also targeted by Sofyan’steam at the Ministry of Tourism. “We also plan on incorporating voluntourism aspart of our tourism offerings, encouraging socially responsible travellers tovisit areas impacted by earthquakes, and witness, as well as possibly join,ongoing recovery efforts.”

Billing Lombok and other settings as partof the Indonesia Destination Showcase, Sofyan detailed the pairing of Muslimtourist source countries with Halal destinations within Indonesia.

For example, travelers from the GCC prefernatural and scenic destinations, including mountainous and beach settings. GCCtourists also appreciate resorts that offer spa and shopping opportunities, whilefeaturing four and five-star accommodations along with Middle Eastern cuisine.Lombok is an ideal destination for travelers from the GCC, who may also enjoytrips to neighboring West Nusa Tenggara, Jakarta, West Java, and West Sumatera.

For water sports adventurers, Lombok offersbreathtakingly scenery and venues for swimming, snorkeling, and diving. A havenfor surfers and paragliders, Lombok hosted a paragliding championship inAugust. For athletes interested in a great event with a postcard worthy backdrop,Lombok’s annual Mekaki Marathon combines running and nature tourism.

The marathon’s course runs along Lombok’sstunning Mekaki Beach, which, unlike other beaches in Lombok, is relativelyunknown to both visitors and locals alike. Intended to introduce the beauty ofthe Mekaki Beach to a wider audience, this year’s marathon is held on Oct. 28.

In addition to Mekaki beach, Lombok’sTanjung Aan Beach, Kuta Beach, Gilis Beach, and adjacent waterfronts are havensfor marine tourism. Recent marine tourism events include Sail Moyo Tambora2018, a part Sail Indonesia, which offered sailing teams a rally that stretchedfrom Darwin to Indonesia and featured visits to several ports across thearchipelago. This year’s rally was a testament to the resilient spirit ofLombok, as the event took place just months after the earthquakes rocked theisland.

Winning the 2015 awards for Best HalalTourism Destination and the World’s Best Halal Honeymoon Destination, Lombokalso features unique tourism villages, providing visitors with the experienceof living as a local.

Visitors to tourist villages participate inrice and coffee cultivation and learn how to make traditional handicrafts aswell as indigenous foods.

Lombok’s award-winning tourismopportunities come as no surprise to Indonesian Tourism Minister, Arief Yahya,who sees this island province of West Nusa Tenggara as a jewel in Indonesia’sbroad and impactful Halal tourism economy.

“Indonesia is ready to greet tourists,especially Muslim tourists. from the infrastructure, ecosystem, marketingchannels, to attractions, Indonesia is prepared. Halal Tourism destinationswill always be growing in Indonesia. All aspects of the destinations have metthe requirements for Halal Tourism to grow exponentially. The market responseis very good so that investment keeps flowing, supported with conducive andsolid infrastructure.”

In line with the theme of “Rise Lombok” andthe unified efforts to speed recovery on the island, Lombok hosted a Halaltourism conference entitled "Strengthening Islamic Economy through HalalTourism: Challenges, Opportunities, and Prospects.”

Indonesia aims to attract 5 million Muslimvisitors by 2019, which will represent a huge portion of Indonesia’s target of20 million international visitors by 2019. 9% of Indonesia’s targeted visitorsare expected to arrive from the GCC. It is also noteworthy to point out thatthe global Muslim market spending on travel reached an estimated $169 billionin 2016, representing 11.8% of global travel expenditure.

The Muslim tourism market is anticipated toaccount for $283 billion in international tourism spending by 2022 according tothe State of the Islamic Economy Report 2017/2018 produced by Thomson Reutersin collaboration with DinarStandard. ? SG

link->http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/article/547441/Life/Explore/Spotlight-on-Lombok-As-a-top-Halal-travel-destination-in-Indonesia