Lombok’s tourism industry went from ‘high season to nothing’ after deadly Indonesia earthquake
Across much of the island, a popular tourist destination, once-bustling villages have been turned into virtual ghost towns
Days after a powerful earthquake rocked Indonesia’s resort island of Lombok, killing more than 300 people and sending thousands of tourists fleeing, its beach strip stands eerily empty, with shops and hotels closed.
Any hotels still open are refusing guests out of safety concerns, while nearby restaurants and dive shops lie vacant in what is usually one of their busiest months of the year, reeling from the devastation of tourism caused by the quake.
“It went from high season just a few days ago to absolutely nothing now,” lamented Howard Singleton, who owns a beachside restaurant in the west coast town of Senggigi, ravished by striking sunset views of a volcano on neighbouring Bali.
Authorities are still tallying up earthquake losses, but the value of assets destroyed and other damage could easily top 1 trillion rupiah (US$69 million), said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the spokesman of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency.
Foreign and domestic tourists fled after Sunday’s earthquake of magnitude 6.9 destroyed homes and displaced tens of thousands of people, adding to the havoc from an earlier quake on July 29, although of smaller magnitude, at 6.4.
