Mandalika beach getting crowded during Christmas holidays

Praya, Central Lombok (ANTARA) - A picturesque beach in the Mandalika Special Economic Zone of Kuta Village in Pujut Sub-district, Central Lombok District, West Nusa Tenggara Province, has started to garner some crowds during this year's Christmas holiday.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, local tourists from various parts of Lombok Island were seen mingling at Kuta Beach on Sunday. They came to the tourist destination by motorcycles and cars.

Traffic from Praya City to Mandalika SEZ was, however, running well. There  was no traffic congestion, and the sky also looked good as it was sunny and cloudy.

Several tourists were seen taking selfies with the sign of 'Kuta Mandalika' as the background while many others were bathing on the white-sand beach.

One of the visitors, Eny from Praya City, said that she and her friends had come on vacation to the SEZ to see the beauty of Kuta Beach.

"We want to take a vacation as it is Sunday,"she said.

Eny and her friends chose Kuta Beach as destination for their vacation because of its short distance to their home. It only took them 30 minutes to come and see the panoramic beauty of Kuta beach firsthand.

"Besides (the destination) being close, it's also fun to go on vacation to the beach, and (we) can play in the water, and see the Mandalika Circuit," they said.

The Central Lombok Police Chief Adjunct Senior Commissioner Hery Indra Cahyono stated that all tourist attractions in the area would be monitored and secured by the police during the year end holidays in order to anticipate the emergence of the Omicron variant of coronavirus.

"The security is (meant) to oversee the adherence to COVID-19 health protocol," Cahyono added.

In addition to guarding tourist attractions, his administrations and some more officers would also be dispatched to regulate the traffic and guard churches in Praya.

During the Christmas and New Year holidays, there would be a possible increase of travel, particularly to tourist attractions. To prevent crowds, surveillance would still be imposed, he said, adding that some 150 personnel would be deployed to secure the places.

They would be assisted by the personnel of national defense force, public order officer, and the Transportation Office, he said.

He also expected that the public will continue to comply with the COVID-19 health protocols by wearing masks, washing their hands, and keeping themselves at proper distance. Those measures were to anticipate a spike in new cases of COVID-19 in Central Lombok.

"We urge the residents not to visit tourist attractions during the Christmas and New Year holiday season," he said.