Komodo National Park Limited to 1,000 Visitors per Day: Governor Laka Lena's Stance

East Nusa Tenggara Governor Emanuel Melkiades Laka Lena supports the quota of 1,000 tourists per day to Komodo National Park in Labuan Bajo, West Manggarai, amid a wave of protests over the policy.

Laka Lena stated that he has received reports regarding demonstration actions arising from the tourist restriction to Komodo National Park.

“We have seen the demonstrations and checked with colleagues who previously handled this opportunity, and also listened to the Central Government. In my view, we must consider what was the previous agreement before we carry out the improvement process that has already been decided,” said Laka Lena on Wednesday (15/4/2026) at the NTT Governor’s Office.

Although supportive, Laka Lena stressed that the policy must still be evaluated.

He mentioned that evaluation is important to ensure this policy does not harm the people of Labuan Bajo and West Manggarai, especially in the tourism sector.

In addition, this policy is also related to conservation interests desired by the central government through the Ministry of Forestry and Environment.

“It also correlates with the conservation that the central government wants, through the Ministry of Forestry and Environment, that conservation of nature is also well maintained. From these two points, we then look ahead, whether this agreement needs to be reviewed or continued,” he explained.

Regarding the technical implementation of the 1,000 people per day quota, he stated that it still needs to be agreed upon together. However, in the initial stage, the quota is deemed necessary to be implemented while being evaluated.

“Regarding the thousand people, it will need to be agreed together on how the technicalities of one thousand people per day. For the thousand people in this first stage, it should be able to be practised and evaluated well,” continued the Golkar politician.

According to him, this restriction is also expected to make tourists stay longer in Labuan Bajo.

“This is actually a good intention, so that people coming to Labuan Bajo can stay longer, so before they enter that place, they can visit other tourist spots in Labuan Bajo which are quite numerous,” he concluded.