August 3, 2022 – Chairman of the Indonesian Travel Agent Association (Astindo) Ignasius Suradin said that more than 10 thousand domestic and international tourists have cancelled their trip to Labuan Bajo. This happens due to the price increase of entrance fees to Komodo Island which reaches IDR 3,75 million.
“We’re not sure of the exact number but it’s approximately around that [number], and it’s for the next three months, with August the most,” said Suradin on Monday (1/8).
Due to the cancellation of trips to Labuan Bajo, the economic impact is felt by the tourism sector of the island.
One of the 5-star hotels in Labuan Bajo lost 600 room reservations. Moreover, that doesn’t count the cancellation of travel agents, boats, and other hotels too.
According to Suradin, these cancelled trips have estimated around IDR 1 trillion loss from travel agents, hotels, tourist boats, and others in Labuan Bajo.
Additionally, the rise in the entrance fee has an effect on all tourist destinations in Labuan Bajo and all Flores areas. It’s believed that tourists who have come to Labuan Bajo will tell their acquaintances in their countries or in Indonesia and advise them not to come to Labuan Bajo.
Suradin hopes that the price increase problem should not be discussed further and postponed for the time being. In order for the issue to not spread further and impact tourism in Labuan Bajo in a negative way.
Association of Tourists on a Strike
In regard to the price increase, the Association of Tourists and Individual tourists has come to an agreement (MoU) to stop tourist activities in tourist spots in August.
This strike is a form of protest from them regarding the government’s plan to raise the Komodo Island ticket fee to IDR 3,7 million per person on August 1, 2022.
These tourist services include owners of tourist boats, land transportation service providers, restaurants, hotels, photographers, guides, and culinary businesses.
