Bali Expat Forum - Bali Travel Forum

Anyone doing business in Lombok? Would be great to hear how you manage, pro's & con's and your personal views etc. S'gotta be a few lombokers doing business lurking here? Please tell!

Amazing how few Lombokers we have here.. or at least how few that are willing to share info. regarding business. I've looked through previous posts at LL instead as i've seen a few posters there at least willing to share info.

Anyone else intrested in prospects of investing in Lombok may get their answers through this link (if noone answers here.. ):

http://groups.msn.com/LombokLovers/general.msnw

Hej Tommy,
I'm Swedish like you and have been living in Lombok part time for the last 11 yrs. It's not possible for me to give any business advice, as we'rnt running one, but if your interested you can email me in Swedish and I can give you heaps of other Lombok info. rambutmerrah@yahoo.com
Anita

I am a Lombok member but unfortunately only get to spend much time on this forum when I return to UK.

I have a small business in Lombok but wont go into details now as your post dats back almost a year!

Tommy writes,

“Amazing how few Lombokers we have here..”

Amazing to you Tommy, but not at all amazing to me. In fact, there are very few Bali expats that contribute regularly to this forum, and indigenous Balinese, even less, so it should be no surprise that Lombak is seldom heard.

Aside from Gemma, and maybe one or two other posters who are “in the know” re Lombok, the best you will read here, or on other forums, is tourist related information.

The fact is, the long term “smart money” in these parts is concentrated on Lombok. I stress “long term” as the emergence of Lombok as a serious player in SE Asia tourism is still at least ten years out, but once it really hits, it could very conceivably put the lights out, or at least dim them, in Bali.

I personally have serious doubts that the new international airport in Lombok will ever see a plane land as I doubt the airport as touted will ever be built. If I am wrong, then everything changes, and changes radically and quickly.

Kuta Lombok is one of the most beautiful places on earth. Gemma was most astute to carve out her place in this area before all the major 5 star hotel chains grabbed up their 3 or so hectares.

It takes great courage and insight to think this far ahead of what is most likely to come. If I were young, without a wife and three kids, and coming to this area once again, I’d be giving a very serious look at Lombok...sister of Bali.

Roy wrote:

If I were young, without a wife and three kids, and coming to this area once again, I’d be giving a very serious look at Lombok...sister of Bali.

Hmmmm? Do you mean you'd chose Lombok over Bali to live and settle down there (I don't think you would as your passion & love for Balinese culture & people is very obvious from many of your posts) or purely looking at Lombok from an investor's perspective (buying land)?

Yes, I can see myself choosing Lombok over Bali if I could “do it” all over again. My life now in Bali has everything to do with the choices I made many years ago, and I have absolutely not the slightest regret about those decisions I made long ago,

If today I were in my twenties or thirties, single, and looking for a place in Indonesia to call home, I would give Lombok a very serious and long look.

And, as an aside, there are lots of Balinese in Lombok too.

Hi Roy,
Have never had the chance to visit Lombok but maybe in 2007 we may have the chance from Surabaya or Jakarta.....does Lombok represent Bali to you as "it was many years ago" or does it hold greater opportunities for future investment?
Merry Christmas to you and your family (still Xmas day here) and wish you all your very "Best New Year".
Best regards,
Tim

Many people say Lombok is like Bali was many years ago. But that is in terms of development. The island is quite different from Bali in terms of culture.

9 years ago people were telling me "In 10 years Kuta Lombok will be lik Kuta Bali" I am happy to say that hasnt happened yet & I dont think it will in my lifetime

Mimpimanis,
I hope Kuta Lombok never goes the way of Kuta Bali but as Roy stated,
as soon as the five star hotels go up it probably will.
In what way are the cultures different can you tell me?
Tim
[/quote]

Gemma is right on about the predictions regarding Lombok years past. She should know, as Lombok has been “her turf” for quite a while.

I also agree with her comments concerning the different culture in Lombok as compared or contrasted with Bali. Lombok is predominantly Islamic culture of the indigenous Sasak people. However, there is a significant Balinese population on Lombok as there is in eastern Java as well. This Balinese presence has its roots from the 14th century with the expansion of the Majapahit Dynasty. My wife’s older brother’s wife Nyoman is from Lombok.

If I am not mistaken, most if not all the beach front area in Kuta Lombok has already been bought up by hotel developers. One is already built there, the Novotel which is quite an extraordinary property.

One thing which will have a great impact on both Lombok and Bali is the new international airport designed to be able to handle the new generation of large passenger aircraft. Work on the infrastructure around the airport location in central Lombok has already begun, but who knows when (and if) this will be completed. If this new airport is completed allowing for direct non stops flights into Lombok without transiting in Denpasar, this will obviously greatly impact the growth of Lombok and its development as a tourist area.

I highly recommend Lombok to anyone who is planning at least a two week trip to Bali. Eri and I love the Gili Islands, and in fact, we honeymooned there eight years ago. I can surely see someone comparing the Gili Islands of today to the Kuta Bali of twenty or more years ago. Each of the three main beach areas of Lombok, Kuta, Senggigi, and the Gili Islands has their own individual flavor and appeal.

Tim, many thanks for your Christmas wishes. It was great...very quiet, just our family...and excellent. We hope your Christmas was excellent as well.

Interesting information from you both. The new airport would really "open the door" to the tourist industry but as you say, "when and if".
This would surely affect the culture of Lombok.....as Gemma mentions, maybe the future will "move slowly" to the inevitable.
Thanks again for the information, love to learn about the tradition and culture, will probably be bugging you again.
Best regards,
Tim

Hi Tim
Many of the major hotel chains are already represented on Lombok, and have been for some time. The ones that don't have hotels own land on beachfront property, also bought up a few years ago now.

However, the various hotels are spread all over the island. The main concentration is in the Senggigi area (including Mangsit) such as Sheraton & Holiday Inn, but also in toward Mataram. It's like they couldn't decide which way to jump with where the tourist concentration should be. Accor opted for Kuta, and there are other smaller hotels in that area. Jayakarta is between Senggigi and Mataram - closer to the airport, but on the beach. The Oberoi (while stunning) is a long way from anywhere.

Most of these hotels are struggling to stay open in the current tourist climate.

I echo Mimpi in that I hope Kuta Lombok never goes the way of Kuta Bali. In fact, I hope Lombok doesn't go the way of Bali as far as overdeveloped tourism goes full stop. I don't hold much hope though if the international airport does ever get finished

Freo

Freo,
We also echo your feelings......even though we have never been to Lombok. "Overdeveloped tourism" is one of the fears that I'm sure you all have. Wouldn't it be great if the developers somehow "find the way" to build but respect culture and tradition at the same time....I know you all think I'm dreaming.
Best regards,
Tim