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Gili Strong Triathlon, star event of Gili Trawangan Festival 2019

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IO, Lombok – The Gili Trawangan Festi­val is routinely held in the region of the same name in North Lombok. It show­cases the beauties and culture of Gili Trawangan and is meant to help boost tourist visits from all over the world. This year, supporters of the event in­clude such prestigious agencies as the Gili Trawangan Entrepreneurs’ Associ­ation (Asosiasi Pengusaha Gili Trawan­gan – “APGT”), the Regional Tourism Promotion Agency (Badan Promosi Pariwisata Daerah – “BPPD”), the In­donesian National Sports Committee (Komite Olahraga Nasional Indonesia – “KONI”), and the Culture and Tourism Office (Dinas Budaya dan Pariwisata – “Disbidpar”) of the Regency of North Lombok (Kabupaten Lombok Utara – “KLU”).

The Gili Strong Triathlon, run on 19 October 2019, was one of the events that make up the entirety of Gili Fes­tival 2019. Other events include a Fun Run (19/10/2019), semetian or rattan stave sparring (20/10/2019), fire dance competition (21/10/2019), mixer com­petition (22/10), and the Rebo Bontong Ceremony (23/10/2019).

The KONI of West Nusa Tenggara (Nusa Tenggara Barat – “NTB”) supports the sporting part of the festival, the Gili Strong Triathlon. KONI NTB Chairman H. Andy Hadianto SH expressed his support for the event, which was held on Saturday (19/10/2019), declaring that the triathlon would in time become widespread nationally, internationally, and even globally.

Andy Hadianto has a lot of expe­rience with sport tourism events like this triathlon, because he frequently participates in triathlons himself, all over Indonesia. It is unsurprising that he immediately expressed his support when he heard that a triathlon is be­ing held in Gili Trawangan. He believes that the triathlon would be challenging and salable. He thinks that the level of competition can be raised. “The infor­mation that I receive is that the triath­lon is frequently held in Gili Trawan­gan, but it is not too popular outside the region. Therefore, as a triathlon fan, I was moved to help in order to get the Gili Trawangan triathlon to gather more popularity nationally, and later on glob­ally,” Andy Hadianto stated during the Gili Trawangan Festival 2019’s orga­nizer press conference, which was held at the KONI NTB Secretariat Office on Wednesday (16/10/2019).

Meanwhile, Chairman of North Lom­bok BPPD Lalu Suratman expressed his readiness to organize the Gili Strong Tri­athlon and make it a success. On behalf of the Gili Trawangan Festival 2019 or­ganizers, he promised convenience and comfort of triathlon participants during the competition. “We have prepared everything. One thing for sure, Gili Trawangan is ready to hold this triath­lon,” he said.

The Head of the North Lombok Re­gency’s Disbidpar, Vidi Ekakusuma, approves of the event performed by the collaboration between the KLU and local tourism industries. “Insha Allah, if Allah wills it, we would be able to turn the event into a national one. It is a medi­um for promoting the tourism potential of North Lombok: other than its amaz­ing natural beauty, North Lombok also offers activities that can generate new experiences for tourists,” he said.

The Gili Trawangan Festival 2019 was held from Saturday, 19 October 2019 to Wednesday, 23 October 2019. On the last day, the event will be closed with a local ritual, the Rebo Bontong (“Final Wednesday”) Ritual, which in­cludes the Mandik Safar (“Safar Bath”). This is a cleansing ritual held on the final Wednesday of the Islamic month of Muharram, wherein everyone takes a bath together in order to cleanse them­selves body and soul and prepare them­selves for the subsequent month, the Safar, which is believed to be a month of temptations and bad luck.

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