TEMPO.CO, Mataram - West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) and Lombok district administration have confirmed that they will hold the annual Bau Nyale Festival (marine worm hunting festival) on February 16-17, 2017.

“The events will be different from last year,” NTB Tourism Office director Lalu Moh Faozal said on Sunday, January 15, in Kuta, Central Lombok. Faozal was accompanied by Central Lombok District secretary H Nursiah and Central Lombok Tourism Office director H Putria.

Faozal said that Bau Nyale Festival will be held in Seger Beach. He said that the festival will feature events such as peresean traditional fighting, beach clean-up, cultural parade, surfing, beach volley, selfie competition, culinary kampong, Mandalika beauty pageant and live music.

Local government expects to draw both thousands of national and international visitors to Lombok. “The province has earmarked Rp500 million,” Faozal said.

Meanwhile, H Nursiah said he is hopeful that Bau Nyale Festival could boost Central Lombok’s tourism at national and international levels. Therefore, Central Lombok administration has allocated Rp350 million for the event. The organizer also plans to get Indonesia’s top band NOAH to liven it up.

ANTARA