JAKARTA, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia's Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) province holds tourism events to attract more foreign visitors coming to the award-winning area with traditional festival and travel incentives program provided for foreigners travelling there.
Lombok's particular Bau Nyale traditional festival was scheduled to be held on Thursday and Friday this week, observing local folklore legend by catching the Bau Nyale (sea worms) which comes out in Seger beach during certain days according to traditional calendar of Sasak, the Lombok's traditional tribe.
The annual festival is expected to attract hundreds of domestic and foreign visitors with week-long events leading to the festivity have been prepared by local government.
M. Faozal, head of NTB provincial tourism office said recently in a statement that regional provincial and Central Lombok governments have prepared several events held from Feb. 10 to 17 regarding the festival.
Among events staged during the traditional festival were traditional paresean ceremony, cultural parade, surfing, beach cleaning, beach volley, culinary party and local miss pageant contest.
The Bau Nyale was a local Lombok festival related to folklore legend about Mandalika, a royal princess in Lombok ancient kingdom, who sacrificed herself by plunging into the sea to save her kingdom from being attacked by kingdoms ruled by kings and princes related to disputes of their propositions to marry her.
Following suit the festival, Indonesian Tourism Ministry to hold travel incentive program for 120 visitors among others from China, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia to travel across Lombok and NTB province.
"They will spend their vacations in Lombok and several other tour destinations in the province from Feb. 17 to 19, enjoying the beautiful sceneries in Lombok's pristine beaches and other natural views," Deputy Minister for Domestic Marketing at the ministry Esthy Reko Astuti said.
She said those participating in the incentive travel program have great potentials to attract more visitors from their respective countries to travel to Lombok.
Lombok has earned prestigious recognitions in world's tourism sector in the last few years. In 2015 Lombok was awarded as World's best halal tour destination and halal honeymoon destination.
The titles awarded by Abu Dhabi-based World Halal Tour Award (WHTA) competition were retained in the following year.
Indonesia now engages its utmost to attract foreign visitors by conducting orchestrated efforts in boosting up tourism sector which has been declared as the nation's core business, leaving behind oil and gas, coal and palm oil sector.
The Southeast Asia's largest economy has set target to welcome 20 million foreign visitors and earn more than 24 billion U.S. Dollars from the sector by 2019.
