Growing Tourism on Flores

The Jakarta Globe, Benito Lopulalan, February 24, 2009

 

A line of minibuses is parked at the port of Labuan Bajo, a small town that serves as the regional capital of the West Manggarai district of Flores Island, in East Nusa Tenggara Province. The afternoon sun heats up the asphalt that covers the area. People walk from the buses through the gate of the port, carrying their bags. Others sit talking, sheltering from the heat under the shade of mango trees. The sky and the sea share a calm shade of blue.

 

Some of the islands that make up Komodo National Park can be seen from the port, giving a special attraction to the town of Labuan Bajo where, every Saturday afternoon, a crowd of more than a thousand people gathers.

 

“They are waiting for Tilongkabila,” says Don Bosco Mansen, a resident of Labuan Bajo who works as a guide.

 

Named after a mountain in North Sulawesi Province, Tilongkabila is a passenger ferry that operates between Surabaya, Denpasar, Labuan Bajo and Makassar.

 

“The capacity of the ship is 1,000 passengers, but it often carries more than that,” Mansen says.

 

The development of the area from a small traditional port into a relatively modern facility that hosts bigger ships has attracted residents from across Flores. But not all come to travel aboard Tilongkabila.

 

“People from Lembor or Cancar come to the seaport with their families,” Mansen says. “The big ship fascinates people and creates an attraction for local tourists.”

 

It can take up to two hours by bus to reach the port from the villages of Lembor and Cancar, but the distance is obviously not a deterrent.

 

There is a crowd in the port, and I am reminded of a dream sustained by Indonesia’s tourism operators. Joop Ave, Indonesia’s first minister of tourism and considered a guru by the country’s hospitality industry, once stated that “the crowd created by tourism will develop a market for crafts and agricultural products.” He also said, “Tourism is industry, and needs a good plan.”

 

His words were taken to heart by promoters of tourism development across many regions of Indonesia, with Bali a clear example of the symbiosis between tourism and community-based industry. Data from the Bali Tourism Authority shows that in 2008, an average of 6,000 foreign tourists arrived in the country daily through Bali’s international airport.

 

Fidelis W. Peranda, the district head of West Manggarai, said: “Labuan Bajo is considered a tourist destination and we are working to build the necessary infrastructure, including hotels, roads and other facilities, to develop tourism. We have to develop it according to our financial ability.”

 

The development of the port area is part of a plan to increase tourism to Komodo Island. But so far, in tourist numbers, a year in West Manggarai is comparable to less than four days in Bali. Data from the Komodo National Park shows that last year 21,000 tourists, both foreign and domestic, visited the park.

 

The locals that gather at the port are also far from representing the first tourism minister’s dream about developing tourism for the community. There are no booths selling local souvenirs, or restaurants offering local food. The crowd doesn’t come to sell local products, but rather to buy cargo off the ships.

 

Flores islanders come from afar to buy apples, pears and other imported fruit from Tilongkabila’s crew. They take some of their purchases back home as proof they made it to Labuan Bajo, residents say.

 

The district only grows pineapples, mangoes and bananas, and has recently started cultivating rambutan and durian as well.

 

“This is a small town by Javan standards, but for people from remote villages, it is a metropolitan town,” says Mansen, who moved to the town from Lembor. “When I was still living in my village, going to Labuan Bajo was a big deal.”

 

The trip is considered similar to that made by villagers on Java Island to the country’s capital, Jakarta.

 

With a population of less than 100,000, Labuan Bajo is gradually gaining renown with visitors from elsewhere. Having an airport with regular flights, a good port with regular routes and its location at the edge of Komodo National Park gives the place a unique advantage. More than 42,000 Internet sites refer to the town in relation to Komodo National Park or by using the term “Komodo Adventure.” That term, in fact, has become the most cliched image of Labuan Bajo tourism.

 

The Komodo itself is the biggest living lizard on Earth. Some scientists refer to the creature as the Komodo lizard, but tourism brochures and national park literature call it the Komodo dragon.

 

“Location, location, location,” the mantra of business development for merchants around the world, is proving to be of great advantage to the growth of the town.

 

“Labuan Bajo is growing to be a more interesting town than other towns in Flores,” says Puji Astuti, who recently moved to the town from Ruteng, the capital of neighboring Manggarai district.

 

“If I had to choose between Labuan Bajo and, say, Ruteng, then I would choose Labuan Bajo. A thousand percent,” Puji says, adding that some government ministers have become regular visitors to Labuan Bajo.

 

The rapid development of the town can be illustrated by official population statistics, which show an amazing rate of growth. From 2000 to 2001, the population growth was 1.25 percent, but between 2005 and 2006 it rocketed to 14.53 percent — more than seven times the national level of 1.59 percent in the same year.

 

“Sometimes I think this place grows too fast, but as long as people enjoy it, that’s OK,” Puji says.

 

Yos Darma, a radio presenter in the town, says that not only tourists but “also salesmen come to Labuan Bajo,” adding that shops in the town are now filled with more brands and choices than several years ago.

 

Some of the inns and small hotels have provided accommodation in Labuan Bajo for many years, and have now been joined by more upmarket facilities, including the Komodo Ecolodge, Hotel Anam Emerald, Puri Beach, Bintang Flores and Pulau Bidadari Dive Resort.

 

Many visitors stay at the smaller hotels while waiting for a ship or ferry to Sape on Sumbawa Island, in West Nusa Tenggara Province. They sometimes have to wait several days, when rough seas prevent the ferryboats from sailing.

 

Even though the hotel scene is changing, some older properties keep to old practices.

 

“Some hotels owned by locals here won’t accept tourist couples,” Darma says. “Not because they are tourists, but because the owners know many tourist couples are not married.”

 

In fact, in the small Pelangi Hotel, I see a European couple being rejected by the receptionist who says the property is penuh , or full, even though there are still empty rooms.

 

But some things have changed in the recent past.

 

“The town’s living standards are now very different to what they were three years ago,” Mansen says. “Now that the price of land is rocketing, the price of rental rooms is also increasing compared to three years ago.”

 

A room that cost less than Rp 200,000 ($16.80) a month three years ago can now cost Rp 300,000. In other areas of Flores Island, prices have remained stable for the past five years.

 

Houses are even more expensive to rent or buy, with prices about three times more than they were four to five years ago, residents say.

 

“Expatriates from Germany, England, Italy, Japan and other areas bought land on the hill slopes that face the national park,” says Brian Susanto, a radio journalist in Labuan Bajo. “The hills had no value before, but now the area is so expensive because of these expatriates.”

 

The slopes of Labuan Bajo provide a great panorama of the bay with its scattered islands, including glimpses of two of the three major national park islands — Rinca and Komodo.

 

Residents say prices also began to rise after West Manggarai became a separate district in 2003. Government money poured in, propelling the price of land around the harbor up significantly.

 

“Now we can see the town is separated into several areas according to different market prices,” Susanto says.

 

“It is hard to buy land in the town now — it is too expensive.”

 

Around the town, the price of property is about Rp 40 million per 100 square meters.

 

An influx of people from the islands of Sulawesi, Sumbawa and Java who have moved to try their luck in the town have contributed to the price increases.

 

Ambu Redang, 26, moved the town almost two years ago from Goa, in South Sulawesi.

 

“My uncle has been living here for five years now, and he said we can make a good living in Labuan Bajo,” he says.

 

“So I moved.”

 

Ambu operates a boat between Labuan Bajo and Komodo National Park and sometimes spends three days on board, depending on what his passengers require.

 

During the peak tourist season of June through August, he ferries 15 to 20 groups a week between the port and the park, and is paid Rp 75,000 for each trip.

 

“But outside the peak season I only take two or three groups per week,” he says.

 

Even so he considers it a good income, “because I live close to my uncle and eat at his house.”

 

But for him, the price of food is high in Labuan Bajo, compared to his hometown in Sulawesi.

 

“Labuan people import fruits and vegetables from Sulawesi,” he says, explaining that he often transports fruit and vegetables from Makassar to Labuan Bajo using a traditional phinisi boat.

 

“I think the transportation cost is the main reason food is so expensive here in Labuan Bajo.”

 

Food and dining are related to culture and ethnic groups have their own unique culinary traditions. But finding a restaurant offering the local cuisine is impossible in Labuan Bajo.

 

“Every time a tourist asks me where to buy local ethnic food, I try to talk about something else,” says Mansen, who originally came from Manggarai.

 

The Padang food of West Sumatra dominates the culinary scene in Labuan Bajo. Padang restaurants are all over the town, and also dominate the culinary scene throughout Flores Island.

 

There are no restaurants providing local Flores food and some of the residents say a unique style of Floresian cuisine does not exist.

 

Mansen disagrees, and says that every ethnic group in West Manggarai has traditional dishes.

 

“Every time there is a ritual ceremony, we grill fish fillets, meat and rice in bamboo cylinders,” he says, explaining the local food tradition.

 

“We only have very simple food, not good enough for restaurants,” says Anna Fatima, a local housewife.

 

Puji, who became head of the women’s empowerment division of the local government after moving from Ruteng , says the town organizes a festival for local food.

 

“But so far, cooking food is only considered as a domestic activity.”

 

Just as they wait for what they consider to be exotic fruit to be delivered aboard Tilongkabila, the people of Labuan Bajo seem to be hoping that each newcomer will bring their own tradition, any tradition, to make the town a richer place.

 

In contrast, local guides say that visitors hope to taste the town’s unique culture, not only from its nearby natural wonders, but also the food and crafts of its own residents. 

 

Photo: Boats ferry passengers between the many islands in Komodo National Park. (Benito Lopulalan, JG)