NTB Issues Calendar of Event 2021; MotoGP Mandalika, L'Etape Included

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Provincial Government of West Nusa Tenggara or NTB launched the Calendar of Event 2021 on Thursday, Dec. 10. Nine events are scheduled for next year; starting from cultural attractions, natural events, and sports tourism.

Meanwhile, NTB regional secretary Lalu Gita Ariadi explained there are three main agenda for 2021 tourism, namely MotoGP Mandalika, Iron Man, and L’Etape. He said that the launch of Calendar of Event 2021 isn’t just about setting the tourism activities and the schedule, but also to pay attention to the health measures and the implementation of cleanliness, health, safety, and environment (CHSE).

“What important is the Covid-19 pandemic containment. It will affect tourists’ interest to visit NTB,” Gita Ariadi said.

The following is the list of NTB Calendar of Event 2021:

February - March 2021: Bau Nyale Festival

Bau Nyale Festival will be held at Seger Beach of Mandalika, Central Lombok. The exact time will be set based on the Sasak Tribe calendar.

April 2021: Tambora Festival

The establishment of the Tambora Festival is to commemorate the Tambora volcano that erupted two centuries and six years ago. The volcanic eruption that affected two regencies; Bima and Dompu, killed 71,000 lives and destroyed three kingdoms.  

In the series of Tambora Festival, there will also be Lawata Festival at Lawata Bima Beach, the Teka Tambora or hiking activity at Mount Tambora, and Tambora Challenge. This is an extreme ultra-marathon event of 320 kilometers that starts from Poto Tano in Sumbawa to Doro Ncanga in Dompu.

April - May: Khazanah Ramadhan Festival

The event will be held during the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan in April-May 2021 at the NTB Islamic Center complex. It is scheduled that Grand Imams from Egypt, Morocco, and Jordan will take turns to lead tarawih prayers at Hubbul Wathan Mosque.

July 3: Iron Man

Iron Man is a sports event which will be held at the beach.

August - September: Lombok Sumbawa Month

The agenda will be held in a full month, starting in August to September 2021. There will be a variety of festivals, such as Mataram Carnival, Gumi Selaparang Week in East Lombok, Senggigi Festival in West Lombok, Gili Tramena Festival in North Lombok, and Moyo Festival in Sumbawa.

October 2021: MotoGP Mandalika and L'Etape

The L’Etape is part of the Tour de France which will be held at the beginning of the month. It will be followed by a MotoGP race at the Mandalika circuit in Central Lombok.

November 20: Taliwang Festival

The Taliwang Festival will be held in West Sumbawa on November 20. There will be a buffalo race, or Berapan Kebo at the muddy rice field, cross country, and West Sumbawa culinary tour.

Desember 2021: Accomodation and Tenun Festival of Lombok Sumbawa

This festival will conclude the 2021 and become the peak of the various agenda throughout the year.

Tourism Ministry and Creative Economy deputy of regional 1 marketing department, Taufik Hidayat, said that tourism is the most affected sector by the Covid-19 pandemic due to the lack of people’s mobility. Taufik appreciates the efforts of the East Nusa Tenggara (NTB) regional government in reviving tourism in the region through the Calender of Event 2021.

He pushes for the regional government to empowering tourism business actors by cooperating with local MSMEs and inviting related parties to create attractive tour packages. Meanwhile, the Tourism Ministry is collaborating with several travel agents such as Traveloka and Blibli for online marketing in 22 countries.

Read: West Lombok Readies to Welcome Tourists During Year-end Holiday

Supriyantho Khafid (Contributor)