As a republic with the largest Muslim population in the world, Indonesia is planning to tap the Islamic tourism market by promoting Lombok, one of island getaways less known, a short distance from Bali. According to the West Nusa Tenggara Tourism Promotion Board (NTB BPPD), the government has just started to promote tourism in Lombok Sharia. In the near future, it aims to increase the number of wealthy visitors from the Middle East; a tributary population of people who are likely to bring family members and generously spend during the holidays.
"Actually, tourism Sharia in Lombok has not developed much since we started [working on it] this year," said board member BPPD NTB Lalu Hasanuddin in an interview with Indonesia Expat .
current lack of Indonesia's promotion is reflected in the number of annual entrants Muslim tourists. Despite housing more than 800,000 mosques, Indonesia is still lagging far behind Malaysia and Thailand when it comes to attracting Muslims alike.
Meanwhile, Thailand has been to position aggressively to capture the segment by pressing the halal tourism and launching marketing incentives for Muslims related agencies. in March, the tourism Minister Arief Yahya told reporters that Thailand currently attracts 600,000 visitors each month Muslims. Malaysia pulls in just under 300,000, while Indonesia only manages 150,000 on average.
According to the index Muslim World Travel MasterCard CrescentRating in 2014 the Muslim travel industry was worth about $ 145 billion. 108 million Muslim travelers accounted for 10 percent of the travel world economy.
This number is expected to grow to 150 million by 2020, representing 11 percent of the market with . spending expected to reach between $ 200 billion.
Muslim tourism will continue to be one of the fastest growing travel sectors in the world. In recent years, Indonesia ranked fourth in terms of arrivals of inbound tourists Muslims, with 1.7 million in 2013. Malaysia is topped with 6.1 million, followed by Thailand with 4.4 million and Singapore with 3.9 million. However, it is interesting to note that Indonesia has the largest national Muslim population on Earth, these figures do not take into account local Muslim citizens who are on holiday in their home country.
Realizing the economic potential of Islamic Travel, Indonesia Ministry of Tourism earlier this year as the government would expand its budget to promote tourism in West Nusa Tenggara province where Lombok is located. He promised to devote Rp.11 billion (US $ 823,363) in 2015, against Rp.6 billion (US $ 450,000) in recent years. In the grand scheme of things, these amounts can not move mountains, but they could theoretically take care of small changes that could lead to big impacts. Examples of these may include the opening of more Muslims travel agencies and friendly strategically placing halal restaurants in high traffic areas.
Lombok Island with 1,000 mosques by SBA Mueller
"We have two million tourists in 2015, with a million foreign visitors and million domestic tourists, "Yahya said in March. According to data from the Office of Tourism Indonesia, 1.6 million tourists visited the province in 2014, with 30 percent of them from abroad.
"Islamic tourism in Lombok is supported by the fact that over 90 percent of the population in Lombok and West Nusa Tenggara is also Muslim," said Taufan Rahmadi, head of the Tourism Board of the province. "therefore, the lifestyle of the locals is great for Muslim travelers."
Rahmadi believes a local population with a Muslim majority is also an essential element in the conduct of foreign Muslims in Lombok. he said the tourism Sharia is not only about pilgrimages or religious activities, but rather, it is defined as travel that fully complies with Islamic law. This includes, but may not be limited to the provision of food and drinks that do not contain pork or alcohol, separation of men and women in tourist recreational areas such as swimming pools and spas, and availability of water jets or jet washers in bathroom.
In Lombok, Muslims can more easily find halal restaurants they can to Bali Hindu majority. In addition, as Lombok is sometimes called "the island of 1,000 mosques," Hasanuddin claims it is easier for Muslims to find places to worship every day.
"We also have 11 hotels have been certified halal. Currently, three other hotels are in development. Therefore, we have a . of 14 hotels Sharia in the near future," said Lalu.
Muslim Sharia hotels provide necessities such as halal food, kiblat sign (direction of Mecca), Korans, prayer mats, and prayer time reminders. They also prohibit TV channels for adults in the rooms.
Currently, there are 37 certified halal hotels across Indonesia, with 150 still pending approval. As for restaurants, only 303 out of 2916 have been certified halal; as much as 1,800 restaurants are still waiting for halal certification.
The availability of the installations according to Islamic law can also be found in other tourist destinations sharia in Indonesia. The Government stated that new areas in Indonesia are "officially Muslim-friendly ', including West Sumatra, Riau, Lampung, Jakarta, Banten, West Java, Java, Lombok and Makassar.
Photo by AMISOM information
But there are separate outlets that help Lombok apart from other tourist destinations in the archipelago sharia. "first, we nature breathtaking, "says Rahmadi." Second, we have an Islamic culture that is not only religious, but also more tolerant. "Rahmadi adds that Lombok is more accepting of foreigners compared to other local tourist destinations Islamic as Aceh.
Aceh is the only part of the country where Muslims and non-Muslims are obliged to follow sharia, Islamic law. Lombok, on the other hand, despite being predominantly Muslim, is characterized its foreign-friendly practices. It is not uncommon to see Western tourists enjoy the beach in Senggigi while wearing revealing swimwear.
"other Muslims, we also have Hindunese and people of other religions and we live together in harmony. The people of West Nusa Tenggara are open but always religious," says Rahmadi. "We also educate people to be more friendly to tourists. We make public service announcements for people to uphold honesty and friendliness. It is our marketing tools to make Muslim tourists and others feel more comfortable and safe. "
With an open Muslim society, Hasanuddin said Western tourists who want to sunbathe in revealing outfits and relax on the beach with a beer should not have to worry." The existence of the Sharia tourism will not kill the conventional tourism. on the contrary, it will be the locomotive [to attract a robust tourist trade], "said Hasanuddin. "Most complaints actually come from the traditional tourism industry. Some of these people think that the existence of the Sharia tourism will erode conventional tourism. But there is already a clear distinction between the two."
Hasanuddin cites Gili Trawangan island off the west coast of Lombok as an excellent example of a westernized holiday area will also not be affected by the tourism Sharia.
Assuming that the central government provides support and funding, the tourism board to promote the province says it has more plans for the future to attract Muslims in Lombok .
"For example, there will be special guides for tourism Sharia. We also pushing travel agents offer tours of Sharia. At present, some travel agents are already combining beach visits with visits to pesantren [Islamic boarding schools] to learn to recite the Koran, "said Hasanuddin.