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THE MINISTRY of Tourism emphasized its commitment to Labuan Bajo not just recovering from the impact of the 7.7 magnitude earthquake, but growing into a destination that is much more resilient in facing various risks in the future.
According to the Minister of Tourism, Widiyanti Putri, said these efforts were realized through strengthening disaster risk management and arranging new land tourism destinations in West Manggarai.
“Labuan Bajo must recover and at the same time we want Labuan Bajo to become more resilient and better prepared to face various risks in the future. We want tourism to continue to grow, with stronger safety and wider economic benefits for the community,” said Widiyanti in an official statement received in Jakarta, Saturday (09/29), 2026.
Widiyanti Putri previously (28/8) held a meeting with the West Manggarai Regional Government as well as industry players and tourism associations in Labuan Bajo to discuss steps to restore Flores tourism after the M7.7 earthquake as well as various strategic issues for developing Labuan Bajo tourism.
Tactical steps are taken by directly gathering conditions, challenges and needs from local governments and post-disaster tourism industry players. Recovery of this sector is prioritized based on the level of damage, destination operational readiness, and restoration of community livelihoods.
The focus of improvement reportedly covers the entire tourism chain, from hotels, restaurants, tourist villages, tourist boats, tour guides, to local MSMEs.
Apart from restoring the local economy and restoring market confidence, this momentum is being used to strengthen emergency response standard operating procedures (SOP), evacuation routes and crisis communication systems in the field.
West Manggarai Regent Edistasius Endi reported that post-earthquake activities on August 15 2026 continued to run safely and normally with a record of 2,854 ship departures and 32,692 tourist movements.
The flow of domestic and international flights is reported to be stable, and the Komodo National Park and Padar Island areas have reopened after being declared to have passed a strict safety assessment.
In order to maintain this positive trend, the Ministry of Tourism will tighten marine tourism safety competencies through the Indonesian Tourism Worker Certification (SATRIA) program while expanding the development of land destinations such as Kukusan Island, Kelor Island and Rangko Cave. [traveltext.id]
