TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Tourists visiting Komodo Island in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) will need to pay an entrance ticket of Rp3.75 million per person starting August 1, 2022. The Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry explained the reasons behind the high price.

“This is not about the entry ticket, but the comprehensive conservation of Komodo National Park,” said Vinsensius Jemadu, the ministry’s deputy for tourism destination development and infrastructure, at the Weekly Press Briefing on Monday, July 11, 2022.

Carolina Noge, the coordinator for the national park’s conservation program, said the fee includes compensation for conservation activities and a one-year ticket validity period.

“We limit to 200,000 visitors with compensation of Rp3.75 million per person. Why is it applied annually? Because our conservation efforts are also carried out in one year.”

The limited number of visitors enforced along with the high entry fee aimed at maintaining the survival of Komodo dragons in their natural habitat.

Lukita Awang, the head of the Komodo National Park Center, said the number of tourist visits in 2013 increased dramatically to 63,000 compared to that in 2002 at only 11,000 people.

The significant surge in the number of tourists, said Awang, caused a change in the behavior of the Komodo dragons. “The Komodo dragons have become less alert. They become closer to humans at tourist attractions,” he said.

Additionally, Awang mentioned that the weight of the Komodo dragons in Komodo National Park is heavier than it should be, “Based on our data, it reaches 100 kilograms, while normally, it should be 80 kilograms in the natural habitat.”

On these bases, the Komodo National Park and the local government collaborated in creating alternative tourism, decided to stop feeding Komodo dragons, and developed new tourist destinations.

JELITA MURNI | ALI HIDAYAT

Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo in Google News