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TOURISM development in Labuan Bajo as one of the super priority destinations continues to be carried out to support the presence of quality and sustainable tourism, which is targeted for the number of tourist visits to Labuan Bajo to increase to 1.5 million tourists per year.
According to the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Uno in the weekly press briefing on Monday (10/31), said that the development and arrangement of the area and infrastructure in Labuan Bajo is targeted to be fully completed in 2024.
“We have built the airport; we have prepared the facilities and this is an initial investment. For the arrangement of the Labuan Bajo area, more than IDR4 trillion has been disbursed and we can enjoy the facilities now,” said Sandiaga Uno.
The arrangements carried out since 2020 include the arrangement of airports, container ports, tourism ports, waterfronts, homestays, human resource development, and creative and creative products to events.
In the near future, after the G20 Summit, international direct flights will also be opened from Singapore, Australia, and Kuala Lumpur to Labuan Bajo. Labuan Bajo is also projected to become a leading MICE (Meeting, Incentive, Conference & Exhibition) destination and will develop yacht tourism as well as special interest tourism.
“I recently returned from Labuan Bajo with Singapore’s Minister of Health Mr. Ong Ye Kung and showed, introducing Labuan Bajo. It was his first time there and was very impressed with the beauty and unique selling point of Labuan Bajo. This is the best potential tourist destination not only in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, but also in the world,” he said.
Labuan Bajo, Sandiaga continued, we are targeting completion in 2024 and ready to take off, transitioning from quantity to quality tourism and later the target is 1.5 million tourist visits per year. Labuan Bajo will also become a circular economy destination as well as the development of green tourism and ecotourism with new and renewable energy.
Regarding the entrance fee to Komodo National Park, the government previously decided to postpone it until January 2023. Tourism and creative economy players in Labuan Bajo also expressed their aspirations that conservation costs, which were previously used as the basis for increasing entrance fees to Komodo National Park, can be an option that tourists can choose.
“We are faced with the policy decision on the cost of conservation and we have already filtered (input from the tourism creatives actors) and basically the hope is that an optional system or scheme will be prepared, not referring to a system that requires but providing an option or a voluntary base for additional conservation costs,” Sandiaga remarked.
This proposal, he explained will soon be coordinated with related parties to be reviewed. I heard directly from tourism and creative economy actors in Labuan Bajo that they have not received bookings from tourists after January 1, 2023.
“This has to be studied and socialized, there are still two months to go, but we want creative and creative players to be sure that the package offered is a package that is in accordance with market forces, buying power from the market. There is a threat of a recession next year, there is a threat of an economic slowdown, this must be done,” he noted.
Minister Sandiaga added that we anticipate that it will not affect tourist visits to Labuan Bajo. We will finalize it, we will discuss it with friends at the Ministry of Environment and Forestry as well as in the local government and Komodo National Park managers.
Meanwhile, the President Director of the Labuan Bajo Flores Authority Agency (BPOLBF), Shana Fatina on the same occasion said that tourism and creative economy actors in Labuan Bajo mostly recommended that they be reconsidered (an increase in Komodo National Park rates) and then an optional system could be made. Tourists can choose to contribute more to conservation costs or not.
“Because of the connection, seeing that until next year there are still many potential tourists who are hesitant to decide to come to Labuan Bajo. The options from friends of associations, communities, both industry players and the direct community, they recommend that if it can be made optional so that we can get up first, recover from the pandemic, then while looking at the mechanism and not closing the possibility for friends who want to contribute even more to conservation with activities. But it is not mandatory, only optional,” Shana Fatina concluded. [traveltext.id]
