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Foreign investors embrace ecotourism in Komodo Island
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Office of the Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister expert staff members Haposan Napitupulu, Bambang Susanto and Arief Gunawan (left to right) engage in a discussion with media representatives at their office in Jakarta on Wednesday. (thejakartapost.com/Anton Hermansyah)
L
abuan Bajo in East Nusa Tenggara has become a bustling ecotourism center thanks to foreign investors, who hold an estimated 80 percent of the tourism business in the city.
Bambang Susanto, an expert staff member from the Office of the Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister, said many foreign investors in Labuan Bajo cared more about environmental issues in the city than local entities.
Labuan Bajo is a hub for the prominent Komodo National Park and several diving spots in the area.
"An interesting fact is that foreign investors are more concerned about the environment than the local government, which tends to grant building permits recklessly," Bambang said in Jakarta on Thursday.
The government has prevented building permit issuance in the Komodo National Park to preserve the exclusive habitat of the Komodo dragon, the largest lizard species on Earth.
Currently, the government is surveying and listing potential spots for future tourism development around Labuan Bajo. “We have identified at least ten tourist destinations in Manggarai and Ruteng,” Bambang said. (ags)
