Komodo dragons: Indonesians strike over entry price hike

• The cost to visit the islands in Komodo National Park has increased 18-fold.
• The aim of the government is to control the number of tourists and protect the threatened lizards.
• However, locals claim that it will completely scare off tourists, causing a decline in revenue.

The cost to visit the main islands in Komodo National Park has increased from 200,000 rupiah (£11) to 3,750,000 rupiah (£206.40).

The aim of the government is to control the number of tourists and save the threatened lizards from excessive human contact.

However, locals claim that it will completely scare off tourists, causing a decline in their revenue.

Approximately 3,300 of the unique Komodo dragons live in Indonesia, according to the Reuters news agency. The largest lizard in the world may reach a length of three metres and has razor-sharp fangs and a deadly bite (10 feet).

Busloads of tourists from all over the world travel to Komodo National Park to observe the endangered species in person thanks to their distinctive, dinosaur-like look, with 220,000 doing so in 2019.

The local government expects that by raising the ticket charges, this number would drop and the islands will once again belong to their rightful owners, the dragons.

700 local employees that depend on tourism in response are going on strike through the end of August.

A nearby tour operator, Servianus Setiawan, claimed that the proposals endangered villagers who relied on tourism for their livelihood.

“Please come up with a reasonable amount so we can maintain Komodo dragons and so people whose livelihood depends on tourism can exist,” he said to the AFP news agency. “We support Komodo conservation.”

Viktor Laiskodat, the local governor, told AFP that although information about the fare rise might have been better disseminated, the 18-fold price increase will nonetheless go ahead.

In an effort to safeguard the endangered dragon species, local officials have made a variety of measures to restrict the number of visitors to the island.

Authorities had once intended to fully forbid visitors from entering the park, but in 2019 they floated proposals to restrict access to those who had paid for an expensive membership programme.

500 islands make up the East Nusa Tenggara province of Indonesia, where the Komodo National Park is located.

Given that it is one of the poorest areas in the Indonesian archipelago, the local economy depends heavily on tourism.

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