THE West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) regional government has rolled out a new campaign – Tambora Greets the World 2015 – to mark the 200th year of Mount Tambora’s eruption, with special attention on Sumbawa.
The campaign aims to draw some two million domestic and international tourists to the province and follows the success of the Visit Lombok-Sumbawa 2012 campaign.
NTB governor, Muhammad Zainal Majdi, said: “In the last five years we have managed to develop tourism in West Nusa Tenggara with Lombok as a focus. It is now time to focus on the neighbouring Sumbawa island, as momentum builds up towards the 200-year (anniversary) of Mount Tambora’s eruption.”
In the run-up to 2015, the regional government has pledged to develop infrastructure and facilities on the island. “We are developing roads for better accessibility (within Sumbawa), inviting hotel developers to build accommodation, as well as packaging products,” said Majdi.
National and international festivals are also scheduled to take place in Sumbawa from now until 2015.
Indonesia’s minister of tourism and creative economy, Mari Elka Pangestu, pointed out that the island was endowed with underwater attractions to attract special interest tourists. Meanwhile, the province, particularly Lombok, was growing as a MICE destination.
According to data from Statistics Indonesia, the number of international arrivals to NTB grew from 364,196 in 2011 to 471,706 last year. January to April figures of 2013 showed a 49.1 per cent upsurge over the same period last year, the highest growth rate among gateways in Indonesia.
Domestic arrivals last year also doubled arrivals in 2011.
Word of the new campaign was first reported last year at the Lombok-Sumbawa Travel Fair in Jakarta (TTG Asia e-Daily, December 4, 2012).
