
“In 2016, in an attempt to expand Indonesia’s tourism industry, the country’s president, Joko Widodo, launched a campaign to create “Ten New Balis” and improve existing tourist destinations while invoking the magic of Bali, the country’s premier attraction. The program included a slew of development projects across Indonesia, including at Labuan Bajo.”
“The sites chosen were all places where the government hoped that greater public and private investment in new airports, ports and hotels would help draw more visitors. At some locations, little progress has been made. At others, major investors have stepped forward, as at the $3 billion Mandalika project on Lombok, which is partly financed by the Chinese-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.”
“But despite the push to capitalize on Bali’s global reputation, there has been little effort to replicate its “eat, pray, love” mantra. At Mandalika, for instance, the government built a coastal MotoGP racetrack for major motorcycle races. A large statue of Mr. Joko astride a speeding motorbike welcomes guests at the entrance.”
“And many of the projects have encountered resistance from local residents. At Lake Toba on Sumatra Island, the world’s largest crater lake, residents protested the seizure of farmland for new roads. On Lombok Island, civil society groups said thousands of people were forcibly evicted from their ancestral land without adequate compensation to make way for the Mandalika project.”
Read the article in full: The New York Times