Lombok, Bali remain conducive to tourism : Ministry

Jakarta  (Antaranews Lampung) - The Ministry of Tourism has assured that the tourism of Lombok and Bali islands remain conducive in the post powerful earthquake that hit North Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) on Sunday evening.

Tourism Crisis Management Head of the Ministry of Tourism Dessy Ruhati said in a written statement on Monday that her side has held coordination with the regional government of NTB.

She said her office had also communicated with tourism stakeholders and the local disaster mitigation agency, and found that there were no tourists who got injured in the earthquake disaster.

 "Though they suffered from minor damage, the Lombok International Airport and Bali Ngurah Rai International Airport are at normal operations," she said.

The Meteorology, Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has lifted its tsunami early warning at 8:25 p.m Western Indonesian Standard Time (WIB).

"We encourage tourists to remain calm and alert and follow guidance, provided by the government. Information will continuously  be upgraded and its sources should always come from official agencies such as BMKG and BNPB (National Disaster Mitigation Agency)," she said.

An earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale rocked North Lombok District, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) at 6:46 p.m WIB on Sunday. The BMKG immediately issued a tsunami early warning.

The epicenter of the earthquake is located at 8.37 degrees southern latitude and 116.48 degrees eastern longitude at a depth of 15 kilometers.

 Residents in Bali and parts of East Java also felt quake's tremors.  
   
As of Monday, at least 91 people were reported to have been killed in the natural disaster.

Tourism Minister Arief Yahya has activated his ministry's Crisis Center Team to monitor the latest developments in the earthquake disaster that occurred in Lombok.

President Joko Widodo highlighted the need to lay greater focus on services offered to tourists vacationing in Lombok after the earthquake hit on Sunday, August 5, 2018.

The president made the statement after reviewing the Asian Games XVIII-2018 Infrastructure Readiness at the Asian Games Venue TMII Jakarta on Monday, considering the large number of tourists in the earthquake-affected areas in Lombok.

Reporting by