Labuan Bajo Needs More Than Komodo Island to Boost Tourism
Labuan Bajo. As the Indonesian government seeks to attract more visitors to the so-called "top 10 beyond-Bali tourism destinations," the local administration in Labuan Bajo, which is popular for its diving spots and the famous Komodo Island, said it needs help to create more attractions to boost visitor numbers and ultimately, revenue.
Labuan Bajo, located in East Nusa Tenggara province's West Manggarai district, is on the list of tourism destinations that the national government is currently promoting. Others include Borobudur Temple in Central Java, Mandalika Resort in West Nusa Tenggara, Bromo Tengger Semeru Mountain in East Java, the Thousand Islands in Jakarta, Toba Lake in North Sumatra, the Wakatobi Marine Park in Southeast Sulawesi, Tanjung Lesung in Banten, Morotai Island in North Maluku and Tanjung Kelayang beach in Bangka Belitung.
The government also promised to establish Labuan Bajo as a special economic zone, which is expected to be enacted by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo before the end of this year.
The president will also establish the Labuan Bajo Tourism Authority in a move to boost tourism and implement several infrastructure projects.
However, West Manggarai deputy district head Maria Gewong said Labuan Bajo still needs assistance and support to diversify tourism attractions in the area to generate more revenue for the local administration.
"Many foreign tourists enjoy our sights while on ships and cruises, but it contributes nothing to our revenue. Although the central government has listed Labuan Bajo as one of prioritized tourism destinations, we have not seen a significant increase in the hotel occupancy rate," Maria told the Jakarta Globe last week.
According to Central Statistics Agency (BPS) data, there were only 60 hotels in the district's 9,450 square-kilometer area at the end of last year. The agency did not provide the latest data on hotel occupancy rates, but in the first quarter of 2015, it stood at only 16,42 percent.
Maria expressed hope that the central government's plan to promote tourism in Labuan Bajo will include plans to diversify the attractions in order to also appeal to more domestic tourists.
"Labuan Bajo still needs a lot of assistance to develop tourism in our district, such as religious and cultural tourism – besides the sea and Komodo Island, which are well-established at this time," Maria said.
She added that the diversification is important to create more jobs for local residents, generate more revenue for the local administration and attract more investors to build hotels and other tourism facilities in the district.
At the moment, Labuan Bajo is primarily known for the Komodo National Park, which is home to more than 4,000 endangered komodo dragons. The rest of the area consists of rusty-red volcanic hills, savannah and forests.
With 37,743 passenger arrivals in July this year, Komodo Airport in Labuan Bajo, which was inaugurated last December, is ranked as East Nusa Tenggara's second-busiest, after El Tari in Kupang.
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