Lombok tourism 'recovering' after Bali bomb attacks

The hotel occupancy rate on Lombok island, West Nusa Tenggara, has improved after being badly affected by the Bali bombings on Oct. 1, a senior hotelier said on Saturday.

Public relations manager with Lombok Holiday Resort Rahayu Lestari said some 70 percent of guests canceled their bookings for weeks after the Bali bombings, in which 23 people were killed.

"But since Friday, guests have begun to trickle back to our hotel," said Rahayu.

Rahayu suggested the increasing number of tourists visiting Lombok was due to Idul Fitri and positive news coverage in the aftermath of the bombings. The media encouraged people to return, saying the island was safe, said Rahayu.

The tourists are mostly domestic but there are also guests from Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea, he said.

"Usually the low season takes place between September and December, but since Idul Fitri falls in early November, it can help raise the hotel occupancy rate," said Rahayu.

According to him, the hotel occupancy rate between Nov. 1 and Nov. 7 reached 100 percent.

Rahayu said Lombok offered an alternative tourist destination to Bali, with beautiful places to relax, including Senggigi beach. Bomb attacks occurred in three restaurants -- Kafe Nyoman and Kafe Menega in Jimbaran and Raja's Bar and Restaurant in Kuta Square -- on Bali on Oct. 1. Twenty-three people were killed in the explosions, including three alleged suicide bombers. Similar attacks took place in Denpasar three years ago, killing 202 people, mostly foreign tourists. -- Antara