ER
THE IMPLEMENTING Agency for the Labuan Bajo Flores Authority (BPOLBF), which is a task force under the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, has provided an explanation of issues that have developed among tourists recently related to expensive hotel prices in the Super Priority Tourism Destination (DPSP) area of Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara ( NTT).
According to the President Director of BPOLBF, Shana Fatina, in Labuan Bajo, Friday (3/04) said that currently BPOLBF together with the Regional Government and related stakeholders are in an evaluation effort. We are continuously trying to improve the quality of hotels in Labuan Bajo so that they can meet service standards according to their class.
“In response to various emerging issues, including comparisons with conditions in Bali where hotel prices on the island of the gods tend to fall, but in Labuan Bajo it remains stable and even tends to be expensive, Shana said that there are differences in standard operating costs between regions,” she said.
Shana explained, the operating costs of hotels in Labuan Bajo are indeed higher because there are still many products or supporting materials that are taken or must be imported from other regions.
“We are trying to help with supply chain programs, building local supplier centers to reduce production costs. In addition, the improvement of the quality of human resources will also be carried out so that service management can be effective and efficient with high hospitality,” Shana Fatina remarked.
Shana added that currently the focus of BPOLBF is improving the quality standards of services and facilities so that tourists are not disappointed with the amount of spending spent when visiting Labuan Bajo. The standards used are international standards, it is hoped that hotels, ships and restaurants compete to improve the quality of their services according to existing standards so that there is certainty of service standards with the world of international tourism.
Shana noted that in the future Labuan Bajo still needs more investors to enter, including because as a super priority tourism destination, Labuan Bajo still needs more star hotels, especially for international scale MICE needs and state events.
Not only the availability of rooms with special specifications, continued Shana Fatina, but also the minimum facilities for carrying out activities, such as meeting rooms with adequate security and safety standards. Our target is that Labuan Bajo can become the main host of state international events for a capacity of 20,000 participants at the same time.
Shana emphasized that Labuan Bajo, which is also designated as a super premium tourist destination, means that the quality assurance of the “experience” provided to tourists is well maintained. There are services that are exclusive because they are paid and special, some are publicly accessible by all levels.
However, the super premium context that I want to emphasize is mainly how traveling to Labuan Bajo is obliged to preserve and protect the environment, as well as respecting local cultural wisdom as part of the world heritage.
“Of course, the quality of handling security and safety, tourism activities with premium experience, ease of finding information, involvement of local content and context, and standard public facilities are one of the must for the completeness of the Labuan Bajo destination,” said Shana Fatina.
BPOLBF is also trying to find investors who are concerned with the environment and local wisdom, so that together they can become a strong quality tourism ecosystem.
“It is important for every investment that goes into Labuan Bajo, to be able to help implement conservation, encourage environmentally friendly activities, and strengthen local communities to be able to participate and partner in building Labuan Bajo”.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) West Manggarai, Silvester Wanggel said there are more than 100 hotels spread across Labuan Bajo, so there are many choices for tourists, from the cheapest to the most expensive prices, from homestay class to 5-star hotel class.
Regarding room prices, he continued, each hotel has a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and when it’s quiet like now, it’s clear that many hotels give big discounts.
“The issue of super premium is President Jokowi’s term because the nature is so beautiful, while in the context of amenities such as hotels and restaurants, and others are normal things, it doesn’t have to be super premium prices,” said Silvester.
The chairman of ASITA Manggarai, Evodius Gonsomer, said the same thing. “It is true that compared to hotels of the same type elsewhere in Labuan Bajo, it is quite expensive, but the idea of setting a standard hotel price is not possible, because every hotel has the right to determine the selling price and users are given the right to choose a hotel according to their abilities,” he said.
Meanwhile, the construction of five-star hotels certainly needs to be added because the investment will have an impact on local economic growth, open new jobs and of course the prices will be more competitive because there are more choices of places to stay.
The term super premium has indeed made Labuan Bajo tourism increasingly known for its beautiful nature, but don’t use it as an excuse to make the prices of necessities unreasonable, even though not all people are part of tourism actors.
“In fact, all the prices of goods in Labuhan Bajo are more expensive than the prices of goods in other neighboring regencies, such as Ruteng, Manggarai. Hopefully this will be our common concern to sell the price of goods and hotel room prices or anything at a reasonable price,” concluded Evodius. [traveltext.id]
