Lombok banks on MotoGP to rev up tourism profile

The Indonesian tourism ministry has long coveted sports tourism as a means to raise the global profile of the tourist island of Lombok. Japan is reaping the rewards right now with the Rugby World Cup (and that will no doubt continue for next year’s Tokyo Olympic Games). Considered the great leveller, international sport can bring people together, transcending demographic, cultural and geographic barriers.

Perhaps the biggest legacy of hosting a major sports event is the long lasting tourism potential. How many people had heard of Sochi before it won the bid to host the Winter Olympics of 2014? I consider myself well-travelled but I certainly hadn’t. Five years on, tourism in once little known Sochi is booming.

It’s no surprise Lombok wants a piece of the action. It has quietly been making headway for the past few years securing a number of sporting events, particularly cycle road racing, marathon, triathlon, and interestingly, paragliding. However the breakthrough in its sports tourism ambitions is the big ticket event of MotoGP from 2021.

used with kind permission of Invest Islands

The Indonesian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), which manages the development of the Mandalika super-priority integrated tourism zone in South Lombok, inked an agreement with MotoGP organiser Dorna Sports. It’s a major coup for Lombok, which as everybody knows, has made headlines recently for all the wrong reasons. Post-earthquakes, it marks a new beginning which tourism industry leaders hope to capitalise on.

It’s no surprise that MotoGP is the most popular spectator sport in Indonesia, even though the country hasn’t hosted a top tier race for more than 20 years. There are already early signs that news of MotoGP coming to Lombok has piqued the interest of tourism developers as well as private residential investors.

Last week tourism minister Arief Yahya said 30% of the ground preparations are complete and about 10% of the full circuit complex is done. Arief expects construction to finish on schedule. In fact rather surprisingly, ITDC will release up to 20,000 pre-sale tickets next month, presumably to gauge interest.

Why Lombok MotoGP will be different than any other race

Firstly, it will be the first MotoGP held on a ‘street circuit’ even though the street hasn’t actually been built yet. This is probably the world’s first new public road built to professional racing standards. In effect, it’s a hybrid road/racing circuit that doesn’t need specially adapting for race weekend but then serves as a public highway to get from hotels to the beach and other resort amenities within the Mandalika resort area. The circuit will measure 4.3km.

Why the Lombok MotoGP and tourism are inseparable

Having world-class motor racing set right within a dedicated integrated resort setting is something that has never been attempted before. There will no doubt be challenges to get everything ready for race weekend with the minimum of fuss to resort guests, but aligning them together has plenty of upside for Mandalika’s long term tourism development.

According to ITDC, the circuit complex will have a 50,000 seat grandstand with standing capacity for more than 100,000 more. There will also be race day hospitality suites for about 7,000 and a paddock area with room for 40 garages. These are all temporary structures in use only during races, except for the pit building which will serve as a permanent conference and exhibition centre for the rest of the year.

"As part of the integrated entertainment and sports district, the area in the middle of the Mandalika circuit will be used as a tourist destination. There will be glamping, commercial areas and condotels built in the area." says Abdulbar M. Mansoer, president director of ITDC.

used with kind permission of Invest Islands

Of course having a high profile motor racing event is not simply a license to print money. The government and local authorities will have to work hard to make it a success – both from a tourism and financial perspective. The Indonesian government has already acknowledged there isn’t the sufficient human resources expertise here in Lombok at present. Few events on this scale break even straight away, let alone make a profit. This all has to be weighed up against the potential long term tourism benefits. 

More than 10,000 star-rated hotel rooms are planned, as well as residential, a yacht marina, golf course and eco park across the vast Mandalika site. Even with supporting tourism development ramping up in the local area and across Lombok, its carrying capacity is still well short. Moves have been put in place to boost the number of hotel rooms on the island, especially in rural tourism areas.