From Tambora to Samalas, NTB Proposes 50 Museums as Tourism Icon

West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) province is preparing to open a new chapter in tourism based on history and knowledge. The idea of establishing 50 new museums is touted to become an icon of Quality Tourism.

NTB Governor Lalu Muhamad Iqbal believes the wealth of history and civilization in his region holds significant leverage for developing thematic museums.

"NTB has the potential to have at least 50 museums due to the diversity of things that can be contributed to world civilization history, ranging from culture, crafts, even geology," he stated while visiting a wastra (traditional textile) exhibition at the NTB Museum in Mataram City on Friday.

Geologically, NTB indeed holds unique features rarely found in other regions. Although it only has two volcanoes, Tambora and Samalas, the traces of their eruptions are recorded in world history and had impacts far beyond the archipelago.

The eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815 was not merely a local event. Its volcanic ash triggered extreme weather in Europe and contributed to Napoleon Bonaparte's defeat at the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815. Heavy Rain and mud thwarted his attack strategy at that time.

Meanwhile, the eruption of Mount Samalas in the 13th century left an equally significant global climate impact.

"Europe entered a small-scale ice age era, with two years of winter due to the Samalas eruption," said Iqbal.

For the local government, these stories form the foundation of quality tourism. Tourism that offers unique, contextual, and meaningful experiences. 

Museums are no longer positioned as silent spaces, but as bridges connecting natural landscapes, world history, and tourist journeys.

Moving forward, the NTB Museum is directed to transform into a civilization museum, functioning as a holding museum for smaller museums exhibiting specific artifacts ranging from culture and crafts to geology.

"This is what we call quality tourism, in line with our plan to make NTB a world-class tourism destination," Iqbal stated.

Currently, NTB has five regional museums: one provincial museum on Lombok Island and four museums on Sumbawa Island – two each in Sumbawa Regency and Bima Regency. 

Additionally, there are eight village museums already registered in the National Registration data of the Ministry of Culture.

The Head of the NTB Museum, Ahmad Nuralam, considers this initiative realistic when combined with village empowerment programs.

"The effort to present 50 new museums in NTB is highly feasible because there are currently five regional museums and eight village museums," he said.

He added that integrating village museums with the Desa Berdaya (Empowered Village) Program can accelerate the local economy through optimizing history and culture-based tourist destinations.(ANTARA)