TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno has called on tourism players in Labuan Bajo who staged a protest against the increased admission fee to Komodo Island to restrain themselves and resort to dialogue instead.

“I plead all players in the creative economy tourism to restrain themselves and prioritize open dialogue with, of course, a cool heart and a calm mind. Let us sit together and find a solution,” he said in a virtual press conference on Monday, August 1, 2022.

Sandiaga said President Joko Widodo or Jokowi had made a statement with regard to conservation efforts at the Komodo National Park so as to safeguard the nation’s tourism climate.

Thus, the government did not increase the ticket price for tourists who wanted to see Komodo dragons on Rinca Island, he added.

“So, as the President said, the Komodo dragons are the same, their faces are the same, so tourists can see them on Rinca Island, which has been reorganized,” Sandiaga said, adding that the government had also prepared other vacation sites as alternatives in Labuan Bajo.

The admission fee to Komodo National Park has been upped to Rp3.75 million for islands that have been designated as conservation areas, viz. Komodo Island and Padar Island. The ticket price for Rinca Island, meanwhile, remains at Rp50,000 for domestic tourists—excluding guides.

MUHAMMAD HENDARTYO

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