The district government of Central Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara Province, projected the number of spectators at the World Superbike (WSBK) at the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit on November 11-13, 2022, to reach 40 thousand.
“The number of spectators this year is predicted to be higher than last year’s (figure), which reached 20 thousand,” Head of the Tourism Office of Central Lombok District Lendek Jayadi stated here on Thursday.
Jayadi said with the assumption that the number of spectators doubled from that in the previous year, the locally generated income (PAD) might increase. The PAD from the earlier WSBK was around Rp2.5 billion, so PAD from the upcoming WSBK is targeted to reach Rp5 billion.
Jayadi expressed optimism that this year, the implementation of WSBK would be more maximal, as all parties had learned from last year’s experiences during which several shortcomings were found during the implementation, both in terms of infrastructures and human resources.
“What is important is that we must ensure that the available rooms (accommodations) will be fully occupied,” he remarked.
According to Jayadi, 5,058 rooms are available in hotels and homestays to accommodate the WSBK spectators.
He affirmed that if the rooms are fully occupied by spectators, then the alternative plan would be using the local residents’ houses for rent.
Currently, the Tourism Office has notified the homestay and tourism accommodation players in the region to cooperate with the local community to identify those with houses that can be utilized to become alternative accommodations for spectators. The regional government is also currently proposing a reduction in the WSBK ticket prices in order to boost the number of spectators.
“Currently, identification is being conducted regarding the residents’ houses (for alternative accommodations), and indeed, we are also utilizing tourism villages that later can also be visited by the spectators,” he remarked.
Source: Antara News