// Lombok - Indonesia’s Next Big Thing

The combination of unique natural beauty and enormous government funding has put Lombok firmly on the map as Indonesia’s next major tourism market.

The island has received hundreds of millions of dollars in government funds to build new road networks, electricity grids and telecommunication infrastructure.

Most importantly the island now an International airport which is expanded and improving every year. As of 2022 it is capable of taking long haul flights from destinations as far away as Dubai.

The 100++ million dollar government backed MotorGP project in Kuta Lombok has a large part to do with this constant expansion.

The island has a raw natural beauty unlike other tropical island destinations.

Noticeably drier than Bali, the coastline doesn’t have a lot of rice paddies but it does have dozens and dozens of stunning white sand beaches. Without the rain and rivers, the sand is white white and water is crystal clear. Separating the beaches are towering headlands and just setback from the beaches are countless hillsides. The net result is a landscape which is stunning in every direction.

Farmers tending tobacco fields, fishermen bringing in the days catch and buffalos lazily walking down the beach are typical scenes given the lack of development. This appeals to a lot of people who want to see something more genuine and authentic.

playing catch up to thailand

Indonesia lags Thailand in foreign tourist arrivals by a staggering 60%, despite being a much larger country on every measure - geographically (x3), demographically (x3) and economically (x2).

This is in large part due to an over-reliance on a single destination - Bali. As Indonesia rolls out its infrastructure master-plan across the country, it looks to grow multiple new tourist hubs starting with neighboring Lombok.

bali struggling with Over-Tourism

Bali already reached its capacity of 6 million foreign tourist arrivals in 2019, when it recorded its first year of negative growth after 10 years of +11% YoY.

This is in large part due to over-development and struggling infrastructure, especially road networks. Signs of over-tourism are everywhere from traffic and pollution to dilution of the local culture.

START OF A 20-YEAR CYCLE

Led by huge government investment into public access and infrastructure, South Lombok is at the start of a 20 year development cycle,

Intended to support the +10,000 Ha / 3 Billion USD Mandalika Resort project in Kuta Lombok, the Government stimulus has the added benefit of facilitating tourism development along the entire southern coastline.

With Kuta Lombok fast becoming a mainstream tourism destination with a large domestic market, Selong Belanak is quickly becoming the high end of the coast.

Pullman Hotel (+220 rooms) due for completion in Feb 2022

MASSIVE GOVERNMENT STIMULUS

Official figures are hard to come by but we estimate +300 million USD has been spent on the infrastructure alone in South Lombok in the past 5 years. Another estimated +150 million USD has been spent on the Mandalika Resort project in just the last 2 years during Covid.

Most of this investment has focused on the Mandalika Resort project in Kuta and the of its two major projects - MotoGP track (opened Nov 2021) and the Pullman Hotel (opening Feb 2022). But it greatly benefits the tourism industry across the entire South Lombok coast especially Selong Belanak which is the key area after Kuta.

LOW BASE AND trending strong

In 2019 Lombok received less than 2% of the foreign tourists that Bali did. In other words Bali received in three days what took Lombok one year.

However the tides are turning. Bali reported no growth in 2019 even before Covid, whereas Lombok reported 11% growth and demonstrates a clear multi year trend (since the airport opening in 2011). Shifting consumer trends toward nature-based tourism + experiential travel, match Lombok’s tourism profile helping facilitate this.

Although data is not available post Covid, tourism has rebounded strongly already and showing no signs of slowing down as more rooms come online and flights are added.

CLOSE BUT FAR ENOUGH

The government backed Mandalika Resort project in Kuta Lombok is the main catalyst behind the huge public infrastructure investment to Lombok. But with this also comes years of large scale construction to the Kuta Lombok area, along with the other drawbacks of mainstream tourism (rubbish, traffic…etc).

Selong Belanak on the other hand benefits from the airport and infrastructure but is 30mins down the coast and hence far enough not to be affected by all the drawbacks. Already a destination favored by high-end boutique villa developments, Selong Belanak has a bright future ahead of it.

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