Tourists are starting to flow back to the Gilis, a cluster of three small idyllic white-sand islands, off of North Lombok, popular with holiday-makers.
The three islands were heavily impacted by the earthquakes striking Lombok over the past month. The level of destruction along with anxiety if a tsunami were to occur, prompted an almost-full evacuation of Gili Air, Gili Meno, and the most frequented of the three, Gili Trawangan.
“People have returned to the Gilis. Even property owners, who are mostly foreigners have started to come back,” Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi said from Lombok’s Pemenang Port on Sunday, as quoted by Detik.
The islands, where the economy revolves around tourism, can be accessed via boat from Bali or mainland Lombok.
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In recent days, tourists have been arriving via fast boat from Bali to get to the Gilis, chairman of the Gili Trawangan Employers Association (APGT) Acok Zani Bassok told Radar Lombok on Tuesday.
Only about 600 tourists have been coming in per day, which is not much compared to the average of 2,500 daily arrivals that Gili usually experiences at peak season moments like the month of August and the end of the year, according to Bassok.
The West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Tourism Office from the provincial government says it has been working on repairing damaged facilities like roads and docks to prepare for the arrival of more tourists.
There were 1,400 tourists visiting Gili Trawangan as of Tuesday, NTB Tourism Office head, Lalu Faozal told VIVA on Wednesday.
However, maintenance done by the government has not been the only rebuilding effort in the Gilis. Business owners and local residents have joined forces to restore the island back to its tourism-friendly conditions, cleaning up debris from wrecked buildings, CNN Indonesia reports.
“This cleaning is indeed our united initiative (amongst locally-based entrepreneurs) to revive the atmosphere,” CNN quoted Baso, an accommodation and restaurant owner on Gili Trawangan, as saying.
To speed the cleaning and clearing process up, business owners and residents have rented excavators and trucks.
“We quickly rented two excavators and two trucks. If we waited for help from the government, it would take long until we’re finished,” he said.
“We have prioritized the coastal area first,” he explained.
Baso says his community is aiming for the Gilis to be optimal for visitors by Sept. 1, when there will be a welcoming event.
“Because of the momentum, in the beginning of September, with the fast board route from Bali to Trawangan having opened again, we have made an initiative to prepare a welcoming event. Creating a more lively atmosphere. Come visit,” he said.
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