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Ecotourism projects attract more visitors to Flores
A village boy poses for the camera with traditional houses in the background in Wae Rebo, Flores, East Nusa Tenggara
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A village boy poses for the camera with traditional houses in the background in Wae Rebo, Flores, East Nusa Tenggara. According to data from the Innovative Indigenous Flores Ecotourism for Sustainable Trade (INFEST), the number of tourists visiting the heritage village of Wae Rebo had increased from only 425 people in 2011 to 3,741 last year. (thejakartapost.com/Shivaji Das) (INFEST), the number of tourists visiting the heritage village of Wae Rebo had increased from only 425 people in 2011 to 3,741 last year. (thejakartapost.com/Shivaji Das)
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span class="inline inline-center">A village boy poses for the camera with traditional houses in the background in Wae Rebo, Flores, East Nusa Tenggara. According to data from the Innovative Indigenous Flores Ecotourism for Sustainable Trade (INFEST), the number of tourists visiting the heritage village of Wae Rebo had increased from only 425 people in 2011 to 3,741 last year. (thejakartapost.com/Shivaji Das)
EU-funded projects have helped increase tourist arrivals in Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, a ministry official said.
According to data from the Innovative Indigenous Flores Ecotourism for Sustainable Trade (INFEST), the number of tourists visiting the heritage village of Wae Rebo had increased from only 425 people in 2011 to 3,741 people last year. Cunca Wulang also welcomed more visitors in 2015 compared to four years ago, from 182 to 3,956.
The Tourism Ministry's deputy secretary of foreign tourism marketing development, Giri Adnyani, said INFEST projects, which have been continously providing assistance and education to five selected village areas in Flores, had contributed a lot to increase tourism capacity in Flores.
In addition to Wae Rebo and Cunca Wulang, the villages supported by INFEST include Liang Ndara, Tado and Jerebu'u.
INFEST is a joint initiative between the Indonesian Ecotourism Foundation (Indecon) and its partners, the Benih Matahari Foundation and the Indonesian Association of Tourism Employers (ASPPI). Co-financed by the EU with a total budget of 375,000 euros (US$408,000), the projects started in 2013 and intensively collaborated with communities as well as local government agencies.
Indecon director Ary S. Suhandi said 34 out of 1,100 participants who got training on ecotourism guiding and product development had been selected to receive financial support to obtain national certification as ecotourism guides. Attactive tour packages such as the Flores Coffee Tour have also been prepared to lure more tourists.
Due to the proven outcome, EU will continue its support for the projects for the next four years. (kes)(+)
