ITDC: Tourists From Bali Singgahi Lombok To Watch MotoGP

General Manager of ITDC the Nusa Dua I Made Agus Dwiatmika. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - BUMN PT Pembangunan Pariwisata Indonesia (ITDC) which manages the Nusa Dua tourist area in Badung Regency, Bali revealed that tourists from the Island of the Gods visited Lombok to watch the world motorcycle race, MotoGP season three on 27-29 September 2024.

"There are those who boarded the commercial Denpasar-Lombok plane, there were private planes and some boarded fast boats to go in the morning, their return in the afternoon," said General Manager of ITDC the Nusa Dua I Made Agus Dwiatmika in Nusa Dua, Badung Regency, Bali, quoted from Antara, Monday 15 July.

According to him, this pattern is carried out by both domestic and foreign tourists in Nusa Dua, Bali during the two-time implementation of the world motorcycle racing event.

He revealed that this was done by tourists because accommodation in Lombok had not been able to accommodate spectators arriving at the Mandalika Circuit.

There is also a target audience at the 2024 Indonesian Grand Prix event to reach around 125 thousand people, or an increase compared to the implementation in 2023 which was watched directly by around 103 thousand people.

"As far as I know, Lombok and its surroundings are approximately 20 thousand rooms (infiltration)," he said.

He gave an example of one of the automotive agendas planned to be held in Nusa Dua which coincided with the implementation of MotoGP, some of the participants also flew to Lombok to watch motorcycle racing.

After the viewing program was over, he said, they returned to Bali to continue staying in Nusa Dua.

"After the event was over, I immediately watched (MotoGP) even though I returned to Nusa Dua again because I stayed there as homework for some people who needed comfort," he said.

Even so, in total, his party still has not received details on the number of tourists who placed bookings at a number of hotels in its management area in September 2024 and at the same time watched MotoGP.

With this pattern, he is optimistic that Bali will get economic value even though the world motorcycle race is held on the neighboring island, namely Lombok.

"Last year's economic turnover was around IDR 4 trillion for everything so hopefully MotoGP can move the Lombok economy and its surroundings," he said.