TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Komodo National Park is set to impose a new entrance fee of Rp3.75 million per person starting August 1, 2022. Previously, the ticket price of the park in West Manggarai Regency, Flores, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), started from Rp5,000 per person for Indonesian citizens and Rp150,000 for foreign tourists.

The Environment and Forestry Ministry through the park’s conservation program executor also recommended a limit to the number of visitors in the conservation park.

These were aimed at minimizing human intervention in the conservation of natural fauna, including komodo dragons, so that the population could continue to be stabilized and improved.

The population of the endemic lizard is still in a stable condition and has a tendency to increase.

In 2018, it was estimated that there were 2,897 komodo dragons in the park which continued to increase to 3,022 in 2019, 3,163 in 2020, and 3,303 in 2021.

Meanwhile, the trend of tourist visits also increased over the past 10 years. In 2014, there were below 100,000 visitors. The figure soar to more than 200,000 visitors in 2019. Yet it decreased sharply to only 50,000 visitors in 2020 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Based on the report, the decline was expected to easily bounce back once the pandemic truly ends. In 2030, the number of visitors was predicted to be 300,000 and 480,000 in 2045. The study also stated that the safe number of visitors to Komodo National Park is around 290,000 per year.

ACHMAD HANIF IMADUDDIN I SDA

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