Oct
22
The Next Bali
Bali draws beach lovers and tropical vacation enthusiasts from all over the globe. It is Indonesia’s biggest tourist draw and highly visible amongst Asia’s other travel destinations.
But Indonesia is a nation with thousands of islands. What makes Bali so special? It has good tourist infrastructure and name recognition. The crowded, but beautiful, beaches probably don’t hurt. But Bali is not the only tropical island worth visiting. Many travelers consider Lombok to be the next big destination.
Lombok is only 25 miles from Bali, but it draws relatively few tourists. It lacks the infrastructure, even the paved roads, that tourists on Bali take for granted. Also, unlike Hindu Bali, Lombok has a majority Muslim population. The picturesque temples statues that are a trademark of Bali are replaced by farm field and mosques on Lombok.
But the biggest draw, at least right now, is the unspoiled landscape. The tropical forests are cut by relatively few roads, and the beaches are mostly visited by local fisherman. Tourism officials and developers are calling Lombok the untouched version of Bali.
But development is on the way. An international airport is under construction. Real estate developers from the wealthy emirate of Dubai are planning luxury hotels, golf courses and shopping centers on Lombok’s now natural coastline. Local shops selling crafts and food are being renovated in anticipation of a lucrative future.
But this isn’t the first time Lombok was on its way up. In 2000, developers put their plans on hold as fighting between Muslims and Chinese business owners stuck the island. The unrest was followed by SARS, H5N1, and further economic woes.
But it now appears that Lombok is back on the path to tourist success. Development projects are going ahead and Lombok is now considered a quieter, more natural alternative to Bali. How quiet and natural it stays depends on its future success.