by Jensi Sartin, Komodo MPA Coordinator

"Masterplan of tourism should be a guide to increase the capacity of area managers to reduce the ecological impact of tourism management," said Director of Nature Conservation Management and Information (PIKA), Ir. Listya Kusumawardhani, M.Sc when opening the Public Consultation of Masterplan of Komodo National Park (TN) Tourism, in Labuan Bajo (12/06/2017) facilitated by WWF-Indonesia.

In the presentation of the masterplan document on behalf of the drafting team, Hendrikus Rani Siga, Head of Section II of Komodo National Park, outlined the strategic potential of Komodo National Park to become a world-class ecotourism in the presence of BTN Komodo, West Manggarai Regional Government, the person in charge of Labuan Bajo Pokja 10 Priority Tourism Destinations of the Ministry of Tourism, village heads in the Komodo National Park area, dive operator representatives, fishermen representatives, Komodo Survival Program, PHRI, ASITA, HPI, and other tourism activists.

"The uniqueness and potential of Komodo National Park has been recognized internationally with its status as a World Heritage Site and Man and Biosphere Reserve," said Hendrikus.

The trend of tourist visits in Komodo National Park shows an increase every year. As a Priority Tourism Destination as directed by the President, Komodo National Park is targeted to receive a total of 500,000 foreign tourist visits, by the end of 2019.

"This is a challenge for all of us to ensure that these tourist visits do not result in negative impacts on Komodo National Park, and do not exceed the carrying capacity of the area," said Hendrikus.

As of 2016, total visits reached 107,000, 73% of which were foreign tourists. This means that every 5 tourists, 1 of them is an archipelago tourist. Data for the last 4 years shows that visiting tourists come from 104 countries.

However, interestingly, now, there is an increasing trend of domestic visits. "From the analysis of tourist visits based on country of origin in the last 4 years (2012-2015), domestic tourists dominate visits," said Hendrikus.

The increasing trend of tourists is also followed by an increase in cruise ship visits. "This total visit contributed around 10% of the total number of tourists in the last five years. There are 60 cruise ships that have stopped at Komodo," Hendrikus explained.

masterplan, the visitation target set by the government is considered and managed properly. We need to calculate and regulate the carrying capacity," said Fajarudin, a local tourism activist.

"For example, Batu Bolong dive site and Manta Point which is a favorite of all dive trips, how much can it accommodate? There must be an arrangement of tourism practices for this relatively small location," Fajarudin continued.

"Every input from the public and the parties will strengthen this masterplan document. Solutions and ideas related to the management of tourist attractions such as an open and close system or entry queue system, as well as other arrangements will be carefully considered," explained Sudiyono, Head of BTN Komodo.

"Even while this document is being worked on, BTN Komodo has also begun to organize the implementation of tourism, as well as the provision of infrastructure," he said, closing the day's event.