Komodo visitors mostly backpackers

Komodo visitors mostly backpackers

KUPANG, E. Nusa Tenggara: Overseas tourists visiting Komodo
Island to see Komodo dragons (Varanus Comodoensis) are mostly
backpackers because there are no adequate hotel facilities to
lure affluent foreign tourists, a local official said here
Saturday.

Head of the tourist office in Manggarai district, Paul Boleng,
said Labuanbajo, a main gateway to the island, did not have any
star-rated hotels.

He said it was therefore not surprising that tourists visiting
the island, about 21,000 during the first seven months of this
year, were backpackers.

Boleng, as quoted by Antara Saturday, said Labuanbajo would
have to undergo a face-lift to make it an attractive tourist
resort.