Camino Flores Prepared to Become Indonesia's New Religious Tourism Icon
The development of Catholic religious tourism on Flores Island continues to show positive progress. Since being intensified in 2024, the development of this special interest tourism has shifted focus from merely organising religious and cultural activities towards developing more integrated and sustainable tourism products capable of providing deeper spiritual experiences for pilgrims and tourists.
Recognising this potential, the Labuan Bajo Flores Authority (BPOLBF) is now initiating the development of Camino Flores, a pilgrimage trail that adopts the spirit and concept of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Spain. This initiative is expected to become a new milestone in the development of Catholic religious tourism on Flores Island by presenting a pilgrimage experience that blends spiritual values, cultural richness, and natural beauty. The presence of Camino Flores is expected not only to enrich the options for special interest tourism products but also to strengthen Flores’ position as a sustainable and competitive spiritual tourism destination.
The concept of developing Camino Flores is considered highly relevant for Flores Island. Based on 2025 data from the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Population and Civil Registry Office, approximately 2 million Catholics live on Flores Island, representing about 22.6% of the total Catholic population in Indonesia. This figure serves as significant capital for Flores to develop as a national pilgrimage destination.
This potential is further bolstered by the long history of Catholic mission work on Flores, which has left a rich spiritual and cultural heritage. Various historic churches, Marian grottos, monasteries, seminaries, enduring liturgical traditions, and breathtaking landscapes offer an authentic pilgrimage experience for visitors.
Since 2024, BPOLBF has been strengthening the foundation of religious tourism development through the preparation of Catholic Religious Tourism Travel Patterns, destination narrative enhancement, digital promotion, business forums, and collaboration with dioceses, local governments, tourism industry players, and communities.
Unlike religious tourism that generally focuses on a single location, Camino Flores is designed as a cross-regional spiritual journey connecting various religious sites and missionary history. In addition to worship, pilgrims are invited to interact with local communities, enjoy the culture, cuisine, MSME products, and natural attractions along the route.
The Acting President Director of BPOLBF, Andhy M T Marpaung, stated that Camino Flores does not merely present a pilgrimage route, but builds a tourism ecosystem based on spirituality, culture, and community empowerment. “Flores Island possesses very strong capital to present Camino Flores as an icon of Indonesian Catholic religious tourism. We have religious sites, living traditions of faith, authentic local culture, and landscapes that offer a reflective travel experience,” he said on Friday (31/7/2026).
According to Andhy, the implementation of Camino Flores could begin this year. The route is designed in three stages: the Western Stage (West Manggarai, Manggarai, and East Manggarai), the Central Stage (Bajawa, Nagekeo, and Ende), and the Eastern Stage (Maumere and East Flores). Each stage is approximately 70 kilometres long and can be adjusted to the needs of pilgrims.
The development of Camino Flores aligns with the direction of national tourism development, which emphasises the quality of the tourist experience, destination sustainability, and the even distribution of economic benefits. “BPOLBF hopes that Camino Flores can become a new icon of Indonesian religious tourism while strengthening the position of Flores Island as a high-quality, inclusive, and globally competitive tourism destination,” Andhy concluded.