TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Malaysia’s tourism industry has planned to help the recovery efforts of tourism in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara province, following a series of devastating earthquakes since July until August.

Malaysia’s Tourism Agency deputy sec-gen Dato' Haslina Abdul Hamid made the statement during the 2018 Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) Fair held in Hotel Seri Pacific, Kuala Lumpur, Wednesday, September 5.

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“We like Lombok and we will visit Lombok. My dear Malaysia, my dear Lombok,” said Haslina in a statement received by Tempo, Friday, September 7.

According to Haslina, Malaysia has good ties with West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) thus far. Malaysian tourists, she added, usually visited Lombok in groups and that the number gradually increased since Lombok was promoted as one of the world’s halal tourism destinations.

After the earthquakes, Haslina explained, the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur said tourists’ enthusiasm to fly to Lombok did not slip. “Thus, Malaysia and the tourism industry are ready to support the rehabilitation efforts in NTB of its tourism sector post the quake,” she added.

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Meanwhile, NTB Tourism Promotion Agency (BPPD) head Fauzan Zakaria said his agency and the regional tourism associations would assure Malaysia and the world that the province was safe and worth visiting.

“Only 30 percent of the regions were affected by the quake. There are a lot of other tourism destinations, such as south of Lombok and Sumbawa Island,” said Fauzan.

FRANCISCA CHRISTY ROSANA