The Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno said the MotoGP 2022 would be good momentum for the region to grow economically and urged Mandalika local communities to exploit the momentum to kickstart the economy and create as many jobs as possible.

During an online weekly press briefing on March 1, Uno stated MotoGP Mandalika 2022 could positively impact tourism and creative economy not only for Lombok but also for the surrounding region such as Bali and Eastern Nusa Tenggara (NTT) as well.

"Let's use MotoGP as our momentum. Because, apart from Lombok, Bali will also receive a positive impact, and as we all know, people in cities like Surabaya, Makassar and Bandung are immense interested in witnessing this historic event," said the minister.

Sandiaga Uno explained that notwithstanding President Joko Widodo's decision to lower the ticket sales target from Rp 100 thousand to 60 thousand, residence occupancy around the Mandalika area had touched 9,855 units from 17,833 available rooms.

"[West Nusa Tenggara's local government] plans to collaborate with other regions since this number has surpassed 50 percent of the available rooms," added Uno.

The minister revealed that from 70 thousand airplane tickets provided for the MotoGP audience, 15 thousand are sold. "We expect the sales to increase along with the availability of accommodations and affordable transport," he said.

Side events, travel package and hospitality

The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy or Kemenparekraf has developed several side events to support and promote the MotoGP Mandalika 2022. Collaborating with Ikatan Motor Indonesia (IMI), "Touring Road to MotoGP 2022" is one of the side events mentioned by Sandiaga Uno.

"We are hoping to showcase creative economy products, and we will keep doing Parekraf's human resources supporting activities through cross penta-helix cooperation. Apart from that, we hope these events could become the locomotive of our economic revival and create jobs," said Uno.

Melalui partisipasi Indonesia dalam gelaran internasional, seperti G20 dan MotoGP 2022, diharapkan ada banyak lapangan kerja yang terbuka lebih luas, sehingga sinyal kebangkitan ekonomi dapat kita rasakan pada tahun 2022 ini. #WonderfulIndonesia#BangkitBersamaKemenparekraf pic.twitter.com/KjamfRryn7

— Pariwisata & Ekonomi Kreatif (@Kemenparekraf) March 9, 2022

Moreover, the ministry has also arranged various promotions, including travel packages with ASITA and local stakeholders. Not only could travelers watch the MotoGP with the package, but they could also visit Lombok's tourist attractions.

"We are hoping that West Nusa Tenggara, especially Lombok, can become an international destination not only for the (MotoGP) event but also for the facilities the government has prepared," said Rizki Handayani, the Deputy of the Field for Tourist Products and Event Organizing of Kemenparekraf.

To assure the smooth-running operation of MotoGP Mandalika 2022 and to provide comfort for the tourists, Kemenparekraf collaborated with many parties to train locals in many scopes of work. The training includes photography, culinary, waste management, sanitation and tour guiding, to name a few.