Tourism Operators Reject Komodo National Park Quota: Every Regulation Makes Us Cry
Tourism operators in Labuan Bajo, West Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), held a long march around Labuan Bajo town to reject the daily visitor quota of 1,000 tourists to Komodo National Park. Initially numbering in the dozens, they began their demonstration at the West Manggarai DPRD office.
They then circled Labuan Bajo town, passing through the Marina area before finally approaching the Komodo National Park Authority (BTNK) office. The crowd swelled to hundreds as they stormed the BTNK office.
BTNK head Hendrikus Rani Siga received the protesters at the front gate of the BTNK office. In front of Hengki, the crowd took turns delivering speeches expressing their rejection of the quota, citing its detrimental effects on local tourism operators.
“Every time a regulation is made, it makes us suffer. Every regulation makes us cry,” said one representative from a travel agency during his speech.
The protesters also highlighted the BTNK’s granting of concessions to several investors in the Komodo National Park (TNK) to build tourism accommodations, while simultaneously limiting tourist visits under the pretext of conservation.
They also pointed out the visitor restriction in light of Indonesia’s target of 17.6 million foreign tourists by 2026. The BTNK was accused of limiting visits to Komodo National Park to 300,000 per year.
They urged Hengki to revoke the policy of the 1,000-tourist daily quota to Komodo National Park.
“You must sign that (revoke the Komodo National Park quota policy),” firmly stated one orator from the command vehicle.
Until 12:20 WITA, the crowd continued their speeches. The atmosphere remained conducive. The demonstration was heavily guarded by police officers.
Previously, the BTNK implemented a visitor quota policy of 365,000 tourists per year to Komodo National Park starting from 1 April 2026. This quota is allocated at an average of 1,000 tourists per day.
Quotas not fulfilled up to 1,000 per day during the low season will be distributed proportionally to the peak season.
During the peak season period, the number of visits can exceed 1,000 tourists per day by utilising the remaining quota from the low season.
“We still have an annual quota. The remaining quotas are distributed across all months in one year proportionally, referring to last year’s data on which is peak season and which is low season,” explained Hengki.
He added that the quota allocation during peak season refers to tourist visit data from the same period the previous year.
For information, the highest daily visit during last year’s peak season was recorded on Padar Island on 22 July 2025, reaching 1,755 tourists.
“If we refer to last year, there is also a figure. We have data from last year’s peak season on how much it was. Thus, the approach is to distribute the remaining quota proportionally for the peak season,” explained Hengki.