Indonesia’s Komodo Island Will Stay Open But New Fee Could Be as High as $1,000
Skift Take
So the good news is Komodo Island won’t be closed. The bad news is a “membership” fee, which could be as high as $1,000, will be introduced. Indonesian authorities never cease to goof up on one of its most important tourism attractions.
Indonesian authorities have finally decided not to close Komodo Island, home to oversized Jurassic-like lizards. While this puts to rest confusion over its closure, it spits out another puzzle as to whether a planned $1,000 annual membership fee to visit the island will, in effect, put it out of reach of tourists.
State-owned news agency Antara reported that the government’s decision not to close Komodo, instead limit its number of tourists, was made at a meeting in Jakarta on Monday discussing the management of Komodo National Park. It was attended by Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya, Tourism Minister Arief Yahya, and East Nusa Tenggara Governor Viktor Laiskodat.
Komodo Island is part of the UNESCO-listed Komodo National Park, a cluster of islands in East Nusa Tenggara that includes Rinca Island, Padar Island, and numerous other smaller islands.
As reported by Skift, the local governor Laiskodat made a premature announcement in November last year that the isl
