LOMBOK, Indonesia May 2 (NNN-Bernama) — The island of Lombok, Indonesia today received a boost in its tourism efforts with AirAsia opening its latest hub there.
The hub, which will see AirAsia launching its first international flight from Lombok to Perth, Australia in June this year, is set to see all-round growth in the island, which took quite a beating when some parts were affected by an earthquake last year.
The hub is part of ongoing efforts to support the Indonesian Government and Tourism Ministry’s initiative to develop Lombok as one of ’10 new Balis’, said the CEO of AirAsia Indonesia Dendy Kurniawan at the officiation of AirAsia’s hub here today.
In conjunction with the event, he said AirAsia also unveiled a specially designed livery dedicated to supporting Lombok’s tourism promotion.
The design features local tourism icons, such as the majestic Mount Rinjani and the underwater charm of the Gili islands which are located on the northwest side of Lombok.
An Airbus A320 aircraft will operate the flight to Perth from Lombok’s Zainuddin Abdul Madjid International Airport. Air Asia will also connect to domestic destinations such as Jakarta, Yogyakarta and Bali from Lombok.
Dendy said that the hub will augur well for the island with its rich tourism charms.
He said the new development will not only enhance international and domestic connectivity, but also create local job opportunities, stimulate tourism growth, and contribute to Lombok’s vitally important visitor economy.
Dendy said data from Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism showed that AirAsia remains the largest airline to bring international visitors to the country in 2018, accounting for around 3.2 million or 25% of the total 12.8 million visitors to Indonesia.
Lombok becomes AirAsia’s fifth hub in Indonesia after Jakarta, Surabaya, Medan and Bali. Since commencing flights from Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia to Lombok in 2012, AirAsia has carried more than one million international visitors to the island.
NNN-BERNAMA