There was something special about this year's Expo Alor tourism exhibition (09/20/2018). Alor introduced 3 new ecotourism village destinations that invite tourists to enjoy nature while caring for it. Not only that, the theme of marine protection was also socialized to visitors of Expo Alor, which is part of the Pantar Strait Aquatic Nature Reserve (SAP) area and the surrounding sea.

Pante Deere Village, Kabola Village, and Munaseli Village are three coastal villages in Alor that develop tourism with responsible and community-based principles.

The launch of Alor's three new ecotourism destinations is a collaboration of the Alor Regency Tourism Office, Wisnu Foundation, Mala Tours, WWF-Indonesia, as well as business entities in each village, namely BUMDes Pante Deere, Kabola Fishermen Communication Forum (FKNK), and BUMDes Munaseli.

Touring While Caring for the Environment, What Does It Look Like?

Touring While Caring for the Environment, What Does It Look Like?

Touring is one of the activities to fulfill spiritual needs. In addition to refreshment from the routine, by traveling, a person will get new experiences and values that can be used as learning.

For example, in the ecotourism package Exploring Sika Island and Mangrove Nursery in Kabola Village, visitors can not only admire the white sand of Sika Island, but also recognize the types of coastal plants and endemic animals there.

In fact, visitors can visit the mangrove nursery and plant mangrove saplings directly on the beach. Not only that, visitors are also invited to observe dugongs (Dugong dugon) that live in Mali waters. Of course, observations are made from the boat and in accordance with environmentally friendly dugong observation procedures.

Another tourist attraction offered by the Princess of the Sea Trail package and the Octopus Pond and Altar of Unity symbol in Pante Deere Village. While traveling, visitors are invited to see firsthand the activities of coastal communities such as seaweed cultivation and catching fish.

Touring While Helping Village Businesses Grow

Touring While Helping Village Businesses Grow

By visiting ecotourism villages, tourists can support coastal and marine monitoring activities, particularly of dugongs and their habitats, conducted by Community Monitoring Groups (Pokmaswas) in each village.

Pokmaswas is a voluntary organization at the community level that is encouraged by the government through the Marine Fisheries Service in the local district and province. Pokmaswas has the main task to provide information on destructive fisheries threats (bombs, poisons, potassium) that are still faced by coastal and marine communities and other destructive violations found in marine protected areas.

Because of their voluntary nature, alternative community-driven businesses are needed to fund their activities. With the encouragement of the government and other institutions, various activities have been undertaken by communities to fund their activities, one of which is through self-help funding from villages, tourism activities, fishery businesses, and other businesses.

The launch of this ecotourism village is certainly still an early learning step. One of them is that tourism is not the main thing, but the most important point is the sustainability of natural resources and food security of the surrounding community. Communities that can consistently preserve their nature and culture are the ones who can enjoy the benefits of tourism activities.

Currently, WWF-Indonesia in the Indonesian Dugong and Seagrass Conservation Program (DSCP) continues to encourage the preservation of dugongs and their habitats as part of the natural wealth in the waters of Alor Regency and surrounding areas. You can also support dugong and seagrass conservation efforts in Alor through this ecotourism package promoted by Mala Tours and other WWF partners.