TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - At least 13 tourism associations in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), objected to the government's plan to increase the entry ticket price of Komodo Island to Rp3.75 million per person. The entry fee to Komodo National Park is presently set at Rp50,000 to Rp150,000 per person.

The deputy chairman of the Indonesian Travel Agent Association (Astindo) of NTT branch, Robert Waka, said the objection letter had been submitted to the Head of NTT Tourism Agency, Sony Libing. They hope that the government could reconsider the price surge.

The associations argued that the increase in ticket prices would affect tourist visits because the amount would likely be reached by the upper-middle class only.

Moreover, there has been no survey related to the percentage of the upper segment by far. Tourism organizations are concerned that the price would lead to a significant drop in tourist visits.

If the problem is about limiting tourist visits in a bid to preserve the environment, Robert opined that the area of Komodo Island used as a tourism zone is relatively small, “at 1.3 percent of the total area of Komodo Island of 1,300 hectares.”

Additionally, data showed that there are about 60-70 Komodo dragons living in the tourism zone. The majority of Komodo dragons live in the core zone of the island.

Robert added that the government imposed different conservation policies on similar tourist attractions. On Rinca Island, which is also the habitat of Komodo dragons, the government did not enforce the same policies as applied to Komodo Island.

ANTARA

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