T

he West Manggarai regency administration in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) has been criticized for not involving tour operators in the Sail Komodo event.

The event, which will see hundreds of cruise ships from across the globe set sail off the waters of Labuan Bajo, was launched on May 8 by NTT Governor Frans Lebu Raya. Its grand finale is slated for Sept. 14.

Notable tour operators not involved in the event include the West Manggarai chapters of the Indonesia Tour Guides Association and the Indonesian Tour and Travel Agency Association (ASITA).

'€œWe are still confused about the supervision of the Sail Komodo event because so far there is yet to be any activity involving tour operators in West Manggarai,'€ said Gabriel Pampur, a senior guide in West Manggarai during a training session for event organizers held by Swisscontact earlier this week.

Donatus Matur, member of the West Manggarai chapter Indonesia Tour Guides Association, said West Manggarai was not yet equipped with a Sail Komodo secretariat to serve as an information center.

'€œWe want a Sail Komodo secretariat in West Manggarai so the people and tour operators could be informed about the various activities ahead of the Sail Komodo,'€ Donatus said.

Alfian, Riung district head in Ngada regency, who attended the event management training session, said the Sail Komodo event remained in disarray.

Residents in Riung also feel in the dark about the Sail Komodo event, which will pass through 17 resort islands in Riung, moreover, the private sector and communities on Flores are not even involved in its supervision.

'€œWe are confused about the Sail Komodo rules set by the central government and NTT provincial administration,'€ Alfian said.

Martinus Ondur, a member of the Manggarai Tourism Management Organization, said foreign and domestic visitors often complained about the garbage and the lack of bathrooms at almost all the tourist resorts on Flores Island. Incidents on cruise ships, such as thefts, are also a major gripe of tourists.

'€œI hope the government heeds the complaints from visitors,'€ Martinus said.

Many tourists are also unaware of the Sail Komodo event. Belgian tourist Cambien Erik, for instance, told The Jakarta Post recently that people in Belgium were uniformed about the event due to the lack of international promotion, especially in Europe.

Event management trainer and lecturer at the Bali International Tourism Academy I Made Teken Irwan said the NTT provincial and West Manggarai regency administrations should address the complaints and criticisms
together, saying that the Sail Komodo event would be beneficial for sustainable tourism in the province in the future.

The obstacles, he said, should be discussed in a forum so every stakeholder can sit together and resolve the issue.

Irwan added that tourism on Flores should be sustainable given the draw of the Komodo dragon, which could draw thousands of visitors to West Manggarai.

The regency has seen an increase of tourist arrivals since Komodo National Park, which is home to the Komodo dragons and other species, was nominated as one of the new seven wonders of nature in 2011 and later named a new wonder of nature in 2012.