Thread: So Lombokers..

Interesting information from you both. The new airport would really "open the door" to the tourist industry but as you say, "when and if".
This would surely affect the culture of Lombok.....as Gemma mentions, maybe the future will "move slowly" to the inevitable.
Thanks again for the information, love to learn about the tradition and culture, will probably be bugging you again.
Best regards,
Tim

Hi Tim
Many of the major hotel chains are already represented on Lombok, and have been for some time. The ones that don't have hotels own land on beachfront property, also bought up a few years ago now.

However, the various hotels are spread all over the island. The main concentration is in the Senggigi area (including Mangsit) such as Sheraton & Holiday Inn, but also in toward Mataram. It's like they couldn't decide which way to jump with where the tourist concentration should be. Accor opted for Kuta, and there are other smaller hotels in that area. Jayakarta is between Senggigi and Mataram - closer to the airport, but on the beach. The Oberoi (while stunning) is a long way from anywhere.

Most of these hotels are struggling to stay open in the current tourist climate.

I echo Mimpi in that I hope Kuta Lombok never goes the way of Kuta Bali. In fact, I hope Lombok doesn't go the way of Bali as far as overdeveloped tourism goes full stop. I don't hold much hope though if the international airport does ever get finished

Freo

Freo,
We also echo your feelings......even though we have never been to Lombok. "Overdeveloped tourism" is one of the fears that I'm sure you all have. Wouldn't it be great if the developers somehow "find the way" to build but respect culture and tradition at the same time....I know you all think I'm dreaming.
Best regards,
Tim

I went to the main "Gili" islands a few years ago. At that time, I thought Gili Trawangan was already starting to creak at the seams. (It's a very tiny island you can circumnavigate on foot in less than 90 minutes).

That hasn't stopped "developers" there. The assault is well and truly on! Thank god it's not big enough for an airport, (it might have been if they'd cut the "hill" down - not much room for anything any more). Gili Meno and Gili Air seem to be going the same way.

The "international airport" on Lombok has been operating for some time now. I mean by that that it's been possible to fly there from Singapore. Sure - the runway can't take an Airbus A380, yet, but neither can Bali's sad airport with its one runway. Hasn't stopped Bali's "growth", as far as I can see.

I think that when Lombok's international airport is fully up and running, the same thing will happen there as what happened in Bali. More tourists, more hotels, more golf courses, more supermarkets, more "disruption" for the locals. (As well, of course, more job opportunities.)

The main difference between West Lombok now and what's been happening on Bali for decades, is that Lombok has a chance not to make the same mistakes. However, given that the rape of Lombok is already an advanced work in progress, I fear that it'll go the same way as other "successful" enterprises.

Some of us by-standers would do well to re-echo sentiments such as:

...I echo Mimpi in that I hope Kuta Lombok never goes the way of Kuta Bali. In fact, I hope Lombok doesn't go the way of Bali as far as overdeveloped tourism goes full stop. I don't hold much hope though if the international airport does ever get finished...

Investing in Lombok? Maybe, but you better hurry up.

As an aside - I was on Nusa Lembongan, (next to Nusa Penida - a 30 minute fast boat ride from Sanur), a few days ago. A similar growing scenario there. It's a tiny island, too, and the southern coastline is full of hotels, villas, bars, restaurants, internet cafes, etc. I went to a "mini-market" there but all they had were two aisles of Indonesian biscuits.

I tell a lie. There were three or four Lembongan beauties sprawled out on the tiles watching Indonesian TV soap operas.

No one should worry about an international airport there. Then again, the way Indonesian and Balinese planners are going with the new you-beaut airport on Bali, (wherever they finally decide to stick it), Nusa Penida is not that much more stupid a location than Negara.

I can see it now: A bridge from N. Penida to Bali...maybe an undersea tunnel? Ssshhh! Don't tell any one. Maybe they haven't considered it yet.

And the sea-weed farmers of Penida could welcome new arrivals with rings of sea-weed. Something like that.

:D

Hi Mimpimanis,
Who is funding construction of the new airport? From your latest picture, it does't look like it has made much progress since this posting began almost two years ago.
As a true Lomboker, what do you foresee in general for Lombok?

Whoops and sorry, mimpi

...The international flights from Singapore & KL fly into the old Selaparang Airport, near Mataram, not the new International airport - which is far from operational.

I don't know the physical location of the new airport. My "point" referred to the fact that some non-Indonesian airlines have been flying to Lombok for quite some time.

I guess when the new one is finally "operational", many things will change quite rapidly in Western Lombok. I disagree with Roy's thought that it ain't going to happen, (ie, that the new airstrip will ever be completed).

And BTW. I couldn't get your photo up here...the link took me to Webshots' home page.
Sing-ken-ken

:D

Originally Posted by mimpimanis

The word is still "open in 2010" but I really cant see it happening that soon.

Not even if they adopted the Chinese method of building airports - the world's largest airport, recently opened in Beijing, took only 4 years to construct. It took 50,000 workers and cost nearly 4 billion USD. I read that the Chinese built this airport in the same time it took England to get through the public debate process for Heathrow's terminal 5. China doesn't believe in public debate - the government just 'does it'. They flattened 15 villages and 'relocated' more than 10,000 people and whacked the thing up.

Personally, having seen the speed at which most building projects go in Lombok, I think the airport will be lucky to be finished by 2025. Maybe by that time, world travel will have greatly reduced due to the fuel crises and rising cost of international travel - and it will either never be finished or sit there as a white elephant. :roll: But probably not - it will eventually be finished, and tourism will expand further into Lombok - it will make life as an expat easier (as it has done in Bali), but at what cost to the beauty of the island?