GenPI.co 
Early morning, Wednesday August 7th 2018, Tourism Minister Arief Yahya appreciated Indonesian National Armed Forces Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto. This is after getting information that the number of tourists and residents of Gili Trawangan has been handled well and smoothly. They have been transferred to Lombok and Bali.
"The number of tourists and residents of Gili Trawangan as many as 7,000 have been evacuated (3000 foreigners and 4000 local residents) are all safe, there are no casualties, the area has been cleared," said the Commander who was invited as a quick response to tevacuate both foreign and local tourists from Gili islands.
Minister Arief also expressed his gratitude to Chief of Indonesian National Police, Police General Tito Karnavian, who continued to oversee the process of evacuating foreign tourists from Gili Trawangan and securing meeting points for the victims. The National Police sent Brimob troops from their Headquarter and East Java to Lombok.
"Thank you Indonesian Armed Forces and National Police, the handling is very good," said Minister Arief Yahya. Safety and security are important things seen by the TTCI (Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index), the World Economic Forum. Good handling of emergency response will make Indonesia's tourism competitiveness index stronger.
In particular, Tourism Minister also thanked Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi who is currently in Bali. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has flown directly to Lombok and provided a help desk number that can be reached at + 62-87864124151, for foreign assistance in Lombok. "I have checked the number and its accurate, excellent service," said Minister Arief Yahya.
For those who have lost their passports, visa extension, please contact the help desk. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will assist, and there is no penalty for those who have over stay Visa. "Those who lost their passports will also be assisted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," added Arief Yahya.
The next step is recovery, both in terms of physical, buildings, and services. Emergency response process will take approximately 3 weeks, then followed with recovery. But he hopes that Lombok recovery can be much faster, as IMF World Annual Meeting 2018 will be held in Lombok in October 2018.
"Thank you, hopefully the recovery process in the future will also be faster," said Arief, who had sent down the Crisis Center Team and this afternoon was conducting a Video Conference from the Sapta Pesona Building, 2nd floor, Ministry of Tourism Jakarta office. The Minister of Tourism also expressed his gratitude to the Ministry of Transportation, who was acted quickly. Together with National Disaster Agency - Basarnas and Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management - BNPB sending ships to Gili Islands, both to Lombok and Bali. "All of my requests are about Access, almost all of them are fulfilled by the Ministry of Transportation, thank you Mr. Budi Karya Sumadi," explained Arief Yahya.
Silakan baca konten menarik lainnya dari GenPI.co di Google News
