Labuan Bajo Tourism Actors Strike Because Of IDR 3.75 Million Tariffs, DPR Will Call Tourism Ministry

JAKARTA - Member of Indonesia House of Representatives (DPR) Commission X, the PDIP faction, Andreas Hugo, highlighted the mass strike of tourism actors in Labuan Bajo. This mass strike and protest was a result of the drastic increase in the tariff for the Komodo National Park to IDR 3.75 million.

Andreas said that his party would summon the Tourism Ministry and Labuan Bajo tourism actors during the upcoming trial to ask for an explanation.

"I as a member of Commission X in charge of Tourism and representatives of the people from the NTT-1 electoral district will ask Commission X to schedule a Hearing Meeting (RDP) to invite the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Representatives of Tourism Actors in Labuan Bajo, the Executing Agency for the Labuan Bajo-Flores Authority (BPOLBF) and PT Flobamora during the upcoming trial", said Andreas, Wednesday, August 3.

The East Nusa Tenggara electoral district legislator assessed that the strike of tourism actors in Labuan Bajo was triggered by two things.

Namely, first, a very drastic increase in tariffs of up to IDR 3.75 million, causing a shock for tourism actors in Labuan Bajo. Tourists are worried about the decrease in tourist visits to Labuan Bajo.

According to him, the tariff increase will have an impact on tourism and creative economy actors who are just starting to recover from the pandemic situation by starting to return to busy tourist visits to Labuan Bajo.

"This concern is natural because tourism and creative economy actors in Labuan Bajo, as well as other regional tourism actors, have been really hit by the pandemic", said Andreas.

Second, continued Andreas, although the question of increasing tariffs to the Komodo National Park area has been answered with no increase in visits to Rinca Island, the entrance fee to Padar and Komodo islands is still increased to IDR 3.75 million. The reason for the sake of conservation is expensive, as explained by the local government of NTT.

"However, this explanation does not seem to dampen the mass strike of tourism actors", he said.

"I think we all agree on the urgency of conservation for the islands of Komodo and Padar because this is in the interest of the sustainability of the ancient monitor lizard Varanus Comodensus and its natural habitat in Komodo and Padar", he continued.

However, according to Andreas, the cause of the mass strike seems to have been triggered by the distrust of tourism actors to the reason for the increase in tariffs by being given monopoly rights by the NTT Regional Government to the Flobamora BUMD to set tariffs and manage Komodo National Park.

Therefore, Andreas hopes that the NTT Regional Government and representatives of tourism organizations need to sit down together to find solutions to stop the demonstrations in Labuan Bajo. Because he said, the situation in Labuan Bajo with many demonstrations was a bad treat for tourists and a negative campaign for Labuan Bajo-Flores.

"If this mass strike continues, over time tourists will be reluctant and uncomfortable visiting Labuan Bajo-Flores", said Andreas.