ER
THE WAY KAMBAS National Park in Lampung is developing educational tourism by implementing an interconnection model.
“This December marks exactly one year since Way Kambas National Park reopened with a new tourism concept since the new rules were implemented after the COVID-19 pandemic in December 2023,” Head of Way Kambas National Park Mhd Zaidi remarked on Friday (12/13), 2024.
The new concept allows tourists to directly interact with elephants in the wildlife conservation area instead of offering elephant attractions.
“In the future, the tourism model that will be developed here is an interconnection model, which involves collaboration between the local government as well as the local community to protect elephant conservation while also managing educational tourism,” he explained.
The new model is expected to bring a positive impact and increase people’s awareness of maintaining the health of the protected elephants and the sustainability of their environment.
“In this way, hopefully, the tourism sector of East Lampung Regency will increase because the icon in East Lampung is Way Kambas and its elephants, and this tourist attraction must also benefit the people who live in the buffer villages,” Zaidi noted.
Until the end of the year, he said that the development of educational tourism in the national park continues to experience positive growth despite an increase in the entrance fees.
“The increase in the fee actually does not reduce the interest of visitors too much, and many visitors still come for educational tourism,” he pointed out.
Zaidi promised to continue creating more innovations to increase tourist visits to Way Kambas.
“Innovations will continue to ensure that the surrounding community, tourists, and the local government play a role in maintaining the sustainability of the elephants in Way Kambas National Park,” he concluded. [antaranews]
