Komodo's treasures getting passed by<\/p>\n
By Devi M. Asmarani<\/p>\n
LABUAN BAJO, East Nusa Tenggara (JP): Labuan Bajo, a small
\ncoastal fishing town on the northeastern tip of the island of
\nFlores in East Nusa Tenggara and the surrounding islands which
\nmake up Komodo National Park all have good potential for those
\nconsidering an investment in tourism.<\/p>\n
It is a stopping point on the way to the world heritage site
\ninhabited by Komodo dragons and is surrounded by captivating
\nmarine life, secluded islands and offers endless activities for
\nlovers of the marine environment.<\/p>\n
Yet the town of 5,000 inhabitants has so far accommodated the
\nrising number of visitors in a low-profile and, most likely, low-
\nprofit manner.<\/p>\n
In 1997, visitors coming to the Komodo National Park area rose
\nto 29,000 from 26,000 in the previous year.<\/p>\n
Seventy percent of the visitors flew to Labuan Bajo and spent
\nan average of three to four days in the area, while the remaining
\n30 percent came by cruise ship.<\/p>\n
There are only 20 small hotels in the town and its surrounding
\nislands, including a resort owned by the national parks authority
\non Komodo island which is reached by a two-hour boat ride from
\nthe town's harbor.<\/p>\n
The hotels are mostly of middle to lower quality with nightly
\nrates ranging from Rp 15,000 (US$2) to Rp 75,000. One exclusive
\nbeachside resort, Puri Komodo, charges guests around $60 a night.<\/p>\n
There is not enough accommodation for a place with such vast
\ntourism potential.<\/p>\n
\"During the peak season, we have had so many tourists here
\nthat they have been turned away by the local hotels because there
\nwas simply no rooms available,\" one hotel employee said.<\/p>\n
Paulus Boleng, head of the tourism office in Manggarai
\nregency, blamed poor infrastructural development in the area for
\nslowing down growth of the local tourist industry.<\/p>\n
\"Public facilities such as roads, communications, electricity
\nand water, which are supposed to be provided by the local
\nadministration, are poorly developed,\" Paulus said.<\/p>\n
Reaching the town has also recently become a problem, with
\nflights to the town's small airport becoming ever more scarce.<\/p>\n
The state-owned Merpati Nusantara Airlines, which used to
\nserve the Denpasar (Bali)-Labuan Bajo-Bima (West Nusa Tenggara)
\nroute with Foker-27 aircraft, has cut its service from six times
\na week to four since the economic crisis first began.<\/p>\n
Locals said that flights are often canceled, further reducing
\nthe accessibility of the area.<\/p>\n
\"In a week, I'd say there are only two flights into the area,
\nalthough the load factor reaches 80 percent on average,\" Paulus
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Many tourist groups have to cancel their trips because of the
\nunreliability of the airline.<\/p>\n
The owner of Puri Komodo resort near Batu Gosok beach, Hilda
\nKamdani, said she had not received any tour groups since May
\nbecause of the unreliability of flights.<\/p>\n
Set on a secluded beach on the northwest tip of Flores, the 25
\nhectare hideaway can only be reached by boat from Labuan Bajo.<\/p>\n
It offers tour packages comprising of a trip to Komodo island
\nand snorkling and diving.<\/p>\n
\"Recently, a tour group got stuck in Bali. Their flights were
\ncanceled two days in a row, they abandoned their trip here and I
\nhad to pay for their hotel accommodation in Bali,\" Hilda said.<\/p>\n
Paulus said the limited access had slashed the number of
\nvisitor arrivals in the area to 10,000 between January to August,
\ndown from about 14,000 in same period of the previous year.<\/p>\n
He expected visitors to total around 17,000 by the end of the
\nyear, slightly more than half of last year's total.<\/p>\n
Environment<\/p>\n
Hotelier Feisol Hashim, who owns the Kul Kul Group, expressed
\nhis concern over the local authority's role in conserving the
\nenvironment surrounding Komodo National Park.<\/p>\n
\"When I first came here in 1990, my vision was that this was
\nthe future after Bali,\" Feisol, who is also a member of the
\nIndonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association, said.<\/p>\n
Since then, destruction of the environment has been terrible,
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Over fishing and destructive means of catching reef fish using
\nbombs and cyanide are estimated to have caused 53 percent damage
\nto the coral reefs in the national park and about 63 percent of
\nreefs just outside its boundary.<\/p>\n
Local fishermen complain that catches in the area are falling
\nas the result of the arrival of fishermen with more modern
\nequipment from areas such as Ujungpandang in South Sulawesi and
\nBanyuwangi in East Java, who catch the fish for export.<\/p>\n
Feisol said that development of tourism in the area must
\ninvolve the local community and be aimed at improving their
\nliving standards so that they come to appreciate the value of the
\nnatural environment.<\/p>\n
Feisol has invested over $1 million in various locations in
\nthe area. Prior to the crisis he faced bureaucratic obstacles and
\nlocal resistance before finally getting the green light to build
\na resort.<\/p>\n
But he then decided to delay development due to the crisis and
\nthe poor infrastructure in the area, he explained.<\/p>",
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