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THE EAST Nusa Tenggara (NTT) provincial government and Komodo National Park Center launched the Wildlife Komodo System that could be accessed through the government’s INISA application to implement sustainable tourism at the destination.
“Through the system, I expect that (tourism) management at Komodo Island, Padar Island, and the surrounding waters can perform better,” Head of the NTT Provincial Tourism and Creative Economy Office, Zet Sony Libing stated at the launch event of the system.
Meanwhile, coordinator for Program Improvement of the Function of the national park, Carolina Noge, remarked that the Wildlife Komodo System was developed to serve as a tool for tourism visit governance at the national park.
The system’s data will record the number, identity, and destinations of visitors in the area. It will assist in monitoring the park, including to conduct security patrol around the region.
The management also aims to address various problems in the national park, for instance, overtourism that affects the behavior of komodo dragons.
In addition, other problems include waste, damaged coral reefs, illegal hunting and fishing, use of tiger trawls, as well as overfishing.
If the problems are not addressed immediately, then it will result in the loss of value of the area’s ecosystem services, the coordinator stated.
“The loss of value of the area’s ecosystem services is projected to damage the komodo dragons’ habitat,” she remarked.
Starting from August 1, 2022, tourists are required to register through the application to be able to visit Komodo National Park. It also applies to travel agents, who provide tourism services to the destination.
At the same time, the NTT provincial government will start to implement a visitor quota system and increase the cost to visit Komodo Island, Padar Island, and the surrounding waters to IDR3.75 million (US$249.45) per person, both for domestic and foreign tourists.
Meanwhile, INISA is a digital platform developed by the provincial government, Bank of NTT, and PT Digital Pemerintahan Indonesia that provides easy access for various public services, including the payment of regional tax, electricity bill, as well as the National Health Insurance (JKN). It also provides various tourism services, such as airline ticket booking, hotel reservation, and car rent. [antaranews/photo special]
