The sunrise panorama at Goa Port, Sumbawa, West Nusa Tenggara, on Tuesday (28/3). The beautiful island has not been optimally developed even though it is close to Lombok and Komodo Island, which have become world-class tourist destinations.
“Want to go to Komodo, sir?” Mita, 25, a hotel clerk in Sape, Bima, West Nusa Tenggara, asked on Wednesday (29/3) evening. From Sape Port, there are ferries that serve the route to Labuan Bajo, the main gateway to an island inhabited by giant reptiles.
A small number of tourists who want to go to Komodo Island and other destinations in the waters of the region can begin their journey from Sape, a district at the eastern end of Sumbawa Island. It takes six hours to sail from Sape to Labuan Bajo, West Manggarai regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).
"There are usually foreign tourists who stay here for two or three days a week. A few days ago there was a tourist from Poland who stayed here before traveling to Labuan Bajo," said Mita.
However, the next day, Thursday, no foreign or domestic tourists were seen on the ferry that set sail at 10:25 a.m. Passengers boarding the boat only amounted to about a third of its capacity for more than 300 people. Most were traders who wanted to sell their goods on the island of Flores, or workers and students who wanted to return home.
The six-hour journey aboard the Cakalang motorized vessel is not boring. From the boat, passengers can see white sand beaches on surrounding islands. Even after getting out of the waters of Sape, passengers are offered the beautiful scenery of Mount Sangeang.
Visiting Komodo Island and other destinations, such as the islands of Rinca, Padar and Pink, through Sumbawa Island is an interesting experience for tourists. After enjoying a number of interesting destinations, such as the "land above the clouds" in Mantar village in West Sumbawa regency, Moyo Island in Sumbawa regency, Mount Tambora in Dompu regency, the sultanate palace in Bima City, and traveling around Sape, tourists can continue their adventure to Labuan Bajo.
The option to travel through Sumbawa, for example, was taken by Rao and Eki, residents of Medan. "I flew by plane to Lombok, then continued the journey to Labuan Bajo through Sumbawa. We crossed through Sape," said Rao at a tourist attraction on Padar Island, West Manggarai regency.
Along the way from Pototano in West Sumbawa to Sape at the eastern tip of the island of Sumbawa, tourists are also treated with various views, from paddy fields and corn fields on either side of the Sumbawa causeway to green hills with well preserved forests. A part of the road goes along the beautiful beaches of Saleh Bay.
From the cities of Bima and Sumbawa Besar, tourists can continue their journey to Komodo Island using travel bureaus in the two cities.
Nevertheless, the number of tourists visiting Sumbawa Island is still low compared to the total number visiting West Nusa Tenggara (NTB). Data of the Central Statistics Bureau (BPS) shows that domestic tourist visits in 2015 was 66,654 and there were 1,802 foreign tourists.
By comparison, total tourist visits to NTB on the same year was 1.14 million domestic and 1.06 million foreign. In the same year, data of the NTT Regional Development Planning Agency showed as many as 19,215 domestic and 76,195 foreign tourist visits to Komodo National Park.
Overall, tourist visits to NTB steadily grew in 2016, with 1.69 million domestic tourists and 1.4 million foreign tourists. The visits were still dominated by arrivals from Lombok Island.
The low number of tourists visiting the island of Sumbawa is encouraging the government to try to improve. Moreover, Sumbawa Island has great potential, namely Saleh Bay, Moyo Island and Mount Tambora, the so-called Samota tourist region. The location is also strategic because of two destinations, namely Lombok and Labuan Bajo.
Closer
The head of the NTB Tourism Office, lalu Fauzal, admitted there were few tourist visits to Sumbawa Island. According to him, connectivity among regions on the largest island in NTB is the main problem for developing tourism. Facilities at the two airports in Sumbawa Besar and Bima city are also limited.
Actually, Komodo Island, for example, is closer to Sape than Labuan Bajo. Carlos, a chartered tour boat operator in Labuan Bajo, said that from Labuan Bajo to Komodo Island it takes three hours, while from Sape it takes only two hours.
Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan mentioned at a seminar entitled "Investments to Promote Tourism on Sumbawa Island" on Thursday (23/3) in Jakarta that there was still basic infrastructure that had to be built there. He asked the local government to prepare the facilities and infrastructure, especially those related to the cleanliness of the tourist sites.
During the same seminar NTB Deputy Governor Muhammad Amin admitted there was a gap between the islands of Lombok and Sumbawa. To develop tourism on the island of Sumbawa, basic infrastructure, such as electricity, needed to be improved. Accommodations on Sumbawa were also not as complete as on Lombok.
Festival
Related to efforts to increase tourist visits, a festival on the Enchantment of Tambora will be held from April 5 to 11. The festival is a continuation of a similar events, named Tambora Greets the World 2015 and the Tambora Enchantment Festival 2016.
Various events were held in five regions of the island, in the regencies of West Sumbawa, Sumbawa, Dompu, Bima and Bima city. One of the events to be held is barapanayam (chicken racing) on April 5 in Pototano, West Sumbawa. The peak of the festival will be the inauguration of a sugar factory in Doropeti, Dompu regency.
As in 2015 and 2016, attention is to be focused on a 320-kilometer race (between humans, not chickens) that starts in Pototano. The location of the finish line at Doro Ncanga, at the foot of Mount Tambora, Dompu, will be the same as for the two previous races. A total of 15 runners have registered. One of the participants was the champion in 2016, Matheus Berhitu, 46, from Ambon, Maluku.
This year, for the first time, a 320K relay run will be held, in which two runners in a team will take turns covering the distance. The first runner will be replaced by the second runner at the 160-kilometer mark. Five teams have registered for the race.
The race is expected to help boost the pace of tourism development on Sumbawa Island, which is striving to build tourism parallel to Lombok and Labuan Bajo, Flores.
