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Rinjani Geotourism Festival 2020, the First Virtual Geotourism in Indonesia
The first virtual Geotourism Festival 2020 organized by the RinjaniLombok Geopark Government of West Nusa Tenggara Province supported by Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy Indonesia was held on 15 and 16 July 2020 The event aimed at promoting West Nusa Tenggaras geotourism and showcasing local cultural performances and a wide array of local products and tour packages including virtual tours around RinjaniLombok UNESCO Global Geoparks and an international webinar on Geotourism in Asia Pacific
The twoday virtual festival kicked off online on 15 July 2020 by the Vice Governor of West Nusa Tenggara Dr Sitti Rohmi Djalilah In her opening remarks Dr Djalilah stated that the virtual Geotourism Festival 2020 is one innovative solutions to promote West Nusa Tenggara by using technology The representative from Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy Ms Rizki Handayani Mustofa reiterated that the RinjaniLombok Geopark is one of the geoturism assets in the West Nusa Tenggara province that has to be preserved in collaboration with local community as their pride The representative from Coordinating Ministry for Maritime and Investment Affairs Mr Odo Manuhutu appreciated the initiative by West Nusa Tenggara in organizing the event as part of recovery efforts in tourism industry during the pandemic The Director of UNESCO Jakarta Prof Shahbaz Khan stated that the initiative gave a possibility to the world to visit RinjaniLombok virtually and to contribute to the discussions in managing the current crisis and preparing for an even better experience when travel and tourism recovers from the impacts of the pandemic He emphasized that the event could be a standardsetting example of innovation that will be observed by other UNESCO Global Geoparks Biosphere Reserves and World Heritage sites around the world
The webinar featuring speakers from Asia Pacific Geopark Network Japan Geopark Netwok and University of Sunshine Coast Australia shared the lesson learned in managing geotourism The virtual tours started on 16 July 2020 with various options of routes including trail to the eruption history of Rinjani Ancient Caldera of Sembalun Rinjani Cultural Landscape Exotic Tambora Wildlife Bird Watching Poso Lake and Trekking to the Rinjani Mountain During the virtual Geotourism Festival 2020 participants could visit the exhibitions page for local products and purchase it online
West Nusa Tenggara Province home to RinjaniLombok Biosphere Reserve and UNESCO Global Geopark and SalehMoyoTambora SAMOTA Biosphere Reserve is actively engaging with various stakeholder to increase the visibility of the sites their local culture and promoting the sites as tourism destinations Virtual tours have become popular amidst the COVID19 pandemic as a teaser and an informative platform for people to plan their future travel itineraries
