The magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, on Sunday (5/8) night, did not only destroy buildings and claimed lives. The disaster also paralyzed tourism activities, including on the three islands that used to be the main destinations, Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno, and Gili Air.
After the earthquake, at least 8,258 foreign and domestic visitors left three islets with the help of the SAR team and local authorities. Most of them were tourists and several employees and business owners of the tourism services.
However, there were 61 foreign citizens and hundreds of local residents, who decided to stay on the three islets. Benjamin and 41 other foreigners chose to remain on Gili Trawangan. In the past three years, he has managed Tropika Hotel.
Gili Trawangan, which was usually crowded with tourists, especially in the middle of the year, is suddenly quiet. The road is deserted; a number of buildings are damaged. Hotels, restaurants and shops are closed. The activities of tourists mingling in restaurants, sunbathing on the beach, snorkeling, and cycling around the island suddenly vanish. Gili is in an apparent death.
When the earthquake struck, Benjamin\'s hotel collapsed into the middle of the 3-meter wide road. The seven hotel rooms were cracked so they could not be occupied.
Benjamin will take about two months to repair his damaged hotel rooms to enable him to serve guests. He hopes that the government will bring heavy equipment to speed up the clearing of debris and help revive the economy of Gili.
"I obey to pay taxes to the government. Now is the time for the government to help restore the economy," said the man, who has lived in Gili Trawangan for 10 years.
Loss of income
The owner of Bungalow You and Me, Oka Montana, 51, said tourism in Gili Trawangan was paralyzed after the earthquake. None of the visitors go there because access to Gili is temporarily closed for tourists. This condition makes Oka lose his income for sometimes in the future.
The man from Bandung, West Java, has a two-room bungalow and five bicycles that were usually rented to tourists. Before the earthquake, Oka could earn Rp 1 million per day at the peak of tourist visits, July-August. "Usually traffic jams happened due to the many pedestrians and cyclists, while the beach was full of sunbathing tourists, very crowded," said Oka, who has done business in Gili Trawangan for 20 years.
Ali, 47, the owner of a motorboat, which was usually rented to tourists for snorkeling, said that August was the peak tourist season. Ali could earn Rp 2.5 million per day from transporting 50 tourists to snorkel. However, the earthquake made the potential for income disappear.
Local residents who felt windfalls from tourism activities also lost their income. Supratman, 45, the seller of accessories, such as glasses and hats, said that his average turnover was Rp 400,000 per day at normal times.
"Now I have no more income. Moreover, families live in temporary accommodation centers," said the resident of Pemenang district, North Lombok, who was also one of the earthquake victims.
Tourism in Gili Air is also paralyzed. Okto Berlin Sitanggang, 44, a musician whose profession was to entertain tourists on the islet, said, the cafe where he worked had been closed following the earthquake. "My expertise is only playing music. If there is no schedule to perform, I will be temporarily jobless,"Okto said.
The general manager of Vila Ombak Hotel Gili Trawangan, Mada I Made Cha, said not all facilities on Gili Trawangan had been severely damaged. Some only needed minor repairs. However, repairs can only be carried out after insurance assessments. "Of the 149 rooms at the Vila Ombak Hotel, 80 rooms can still be reopened next month because the damage is not too severe," Made Cha said.
Calvin Leonsius, an independent loss estimator from PT Atlas Adjusting Indonesia, said the damage survey began on Sunday (12/8).
There are around 60 houses, hotels and bungalows whose losses will be assessed.
After the process is completed, the owner can make the repairs. "We will accelerate the assessment so that tourism in Gili will recover soon," said Calvin.
For business owners who do not have insurance like Oka Montana, their savings will be depleted to restore the condition of their bungalow. "Residents who have loans to open their businesses will be harder to rise," said Oka.
Head of West Nusa Tenggara Tourism Office Lalu Muhammad Faozal said that tourism in three islets is expected to be re-opened gradually in mid-September. There are around 40 percent of tourism facilities, such as hotels, restaurants and other tourism services, which can operate immediately again as their damages are not so severe.
To convince tourists to visit the three islets, Faozal will conduct promotions both at home and abroad. Tourists need to get information about Gili conditions that can welcome tourists again. "Cleaning of debris due to the earthquake will soon be done so that repairs to facilities and infrastructure can be accelerated," said Faozal.
The chairman of the West Nusa Tenggara Office of the Association of Indonesian Tourist Travel Companies, Dewantoro Umbu Joka, said that the evacuation of more than 8,000 tourists from the three islets has led to the death of tourism. Originally, every day there were around 2,000 tourists vacationing on Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno, and Gili Air. They spent around Rp 5 million in one visit so that the circulation of money in three islets was no less than Rp 10 billion per day.
"Tourists do not dare to go to three islets for fear of a tsunami, not an earthquake. The government needs to convince the international community that the islets are safe from the tsunami," he said.
Security
West Nusa Tenggara Police Chief Insp. Gen. Achmat Juri said he was deploying 150 police personnel to guard Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno and Gili Air 24 hours. They patrol and collect data to all residents who go in and out of the three islets. The aim is to protect the assets of business owners which were temporarily abandoned after the earthquake.
Sunday (12/8), a number of police personnel, mostly from the Central Java Police Mobile Brigade, were seen traveling around the islets on bicycles. The business owners seem to feel more secure the tighter guarding there. "Before the police were present, I had to go back and forth to see our stalls for fear of being broken into," said Supratman.
However, there are still several hotel owners who are worried about security conditions after the earthquake. "I am asked by the boss to safeguard the hotel. Just to anticipate it," said Samsul, 24, an employee of Mala Garden Hotel. Meanwhile. Theresa, 37, an employee of Free Dive diving equipment shop, keeps watch while cleaning the shop.
For the sake of security considerations, crossing access to Gili is currently limited to villagers and interested parties, such as business owners. Those who cross over to Gili from Lombok Island can only go through one door at the Teluk Nara Pier and must register at the guard post to prevent people from trying to commit a crime. "There are also four posts in each islet that will record people who will enter and leave the Gili," Achmat said.
(ILO/SYA/RUL)
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