"Since January, foreign tourist visits have increased. Meanwhile, domestic tourists have decreased, especially in August 2022," Head of the West Manggarai Tourism, Creative Economy and Culture Service Pius Baut informed in Labuan Bajo on Friday.
The number of foreign tourists visiting the area stood at 6,601 in June, then increased to 10,438 in July, and 12,041 in August, he said.
The increase in foreign tourist visits in the first half of this year was due to the sloping of COVID-19 cases, Baut added.
The recovery in tourist visits also led to an easing of the policy for travelers, including travel requirements.
"The easing of the policy has brought a positive impact to the tourism sector so the visits to Labuan Bajo have begun to increase," he remarked.
However, the number of domestic tourist visits in August was only 7,169, a decline from 15,332 in July.
In general, the total tourist visits, including foreign and domestic, fell from 25,770 in July to 19,210 in August.
Baut attributed this to the recent rise in airline ticket prices and an increase in the entry fee to Komodo Island to Rp3.75 million, among other things.
In order to increase tourist visits to Labuan Bajo, the West Manggarai district government is continuing to coordinate with the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy and all stakeholders to continue to promote Labuan Bajo as a super-priority tourism destination.
Besides coordinating with various tourism stakeholders, the regional tourism service has continued to optimize the development of tourist villages and existing tourist attractions, Baut said.
Optimizing tourist attractions is important to provide tourists with many options. Furthermore, the regional tourism service has continued to strengthen institutional and community capacities.
Baut said he hopes that the efforts would help attract more tourists to Labuan Bajo.
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Translator: Fransiska Mariana N, Resinta S
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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