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LABUAN Bajo in NTT continues to improve towards its readiness to host the ASEAN Summit and the G-20 Summit which will be held in 2023.
According to the Managing Director of the Labuan Bajo Flores Tourism Authority, Shana Fatina, in his statement some time ago, there were a number of developments and service improvements carried out to make Labuan Bajo a premium tourist destination. One of them is the readiness of Komodo Airport to receive international flights.
Shana said that Komodo Airport could actually receive international flights by the end of 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this was postponed until 2021.
“The target is February 2021 Komodo Airport will be managed together with Changi Airport and Cardig to serve international flights. It is targeted that next year there will be an extension of the runway and apron. For this year, the Ministry of Transportation is working on extending the runway to 250 meters and cutting the Telumpang hill so that planes can fly comfortably,” Shana noted.
In addition, Shana said, his party also encouraged the improvement of human resources for tourism actors in the Labuan Bajo BOP coordination area.
“We also encourage quality tourism that attracts tourists with high levels of expenditure, at least US $ 1,500 per visit per person. So now we are not only encouraging the provision of premium facilities, we are also working to make the human resources who manage it also at a premium,” she added.
Shana explained, although he wanted to target tourists with high purchasing power, his party would still accommodate backpackers. He said that his party is also preparing a number of facilities and tourist attractions that can be reached by backpackers.
“Because there is a lot of tourism potential in Flores which has been initiated by them (backpackers). So we will prepare pockets so that all tourists from all walks of life can enjoy premium quality tourism in Flores and also provide added value due to interactions with the community and local wisdom while enjoying the natural wealth of Flores,” she said.
On the same occasion, Director of Development of the Indonesia Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), Edwin Darmasetiawan, said ITDC is working with BOP Labuan Bajo Flores and related ministries and agencies to improve the Tana Mori area in Labuan Bajo to serve as a premium class tourist destination.
This development, said Edwin, is an effort by ITDC and BOP Labuan Bajo Flores to make Labuan Bajo which has been determined as one of the 5 Super Priority Destinations in Indonesia into a premium tourist destination that attracts foreign tourists with high purchasing power.
“We have completed Tana Mori’s master plan so it is very ready to be built. Tana Mori will also be built with concepts that are in accordance with the values of the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI), so when the construction process starts it will pay close attention to hygiene infrastructure. in accordance with the TCCI value,” Edwin affirmed.
Not only that, Edwin also said that his party is currently building two five-star hotel units and one four-star hotel unit to accommodate the guests of the G-20 Summit and the Asean Summit later. So this hotel is expected to be able to accommodate guests from the event and in the future it can be used as a place to stay for tourists. [traveltext.id]
