Remember all that furor following the government’s idea to raise the entry fee for the two main islands of Komodo National Park? A top official has confirmed that the plan, which had been set to go into effect on Jan. 1, has been scrapped.
Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno has confirmed the plan to implement an entry fee of IDR3.75 million (US$240), good for one year, to visit Komodo and Padar, the two main islands where the iconic Komodo dragons are endemic, has been scrapped.
“[The entry fee hike] has been retracted and canceled. So there is no price hike to enter Komodo [National Park],” Sandiaga was quoted by Antara news agency as saying yesterday.
Sandiaga did not provide further details regarding the reason for the policy’s cancellation.
Plans for the entry fee hike were originally announced by the administrations of the East Nusa Tenggara Province in July, with the justification that the funds would be used to finance the maintenance of the sites’ natural environment.
The IDR3.75 million was initially branded not as an entrance fee, but as a (mandatory) contribution to the conservation of Komodo and Padar islands as well as the surrounding areas.
The Park is a UNESCO world heritage site, and currently charges a fee of IDR150,000 (US$10.68) for foreign tourists and IDR5,000 (US$0.36) for domestic tourists on weekdays, though there are notably additional fees tourists may incur during their trip, including for trekking or snorkeling.
The plans for the price hike were met with backlash from tourist agencies in Labuan Bajo to the point that protests reportedly took place over concerns that it would threaten their community’s income from tourism.
Even the Indonesian parliament asked the government to reconsider the plan in August.
The plan was then postponed until 2023 (in other words, within two weeks). Sandiaga’s statement confirmed that it has been canceled for good.
