NTT Government: IDR 3.75 Million Fee is Not the Entrance Fee for Tourists to Komodo National Park

TRIBUNBATAM.id, NTT - The Provincial Government of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) said that the IDR 3.75 million fee for the Komodo National Park, which has become a hot topic of discussion and has drawn protests from various parties since the middle of this year, is not an entry fee. 

"We need to convey that the IDR 3.75 million fee is not an entry fee but a contribution from tourists in maintaining conservation in the Komodo National Park area," said Head of the Tourism and Creative Economy Office for East Nusa Tenggara Province, Zet Sony Libing. 

This statement is different from the previous decision by the NTT Regional Government which stated that the entry fee for Komodo National Park tourists is IDR 3.75 million.

He said the fee was a tourist contribution to preserving Komodo dragons and their ecosystem.

The imposition of this contribution will take effect from 1 January 2023 after previously wanting to be implemented in August 2022.

"The NTT Provincial Government continues to enforce conditions for tourists to contribute IDR 3.75 million per person," said Zet. 2

According to him, the NTT government has never mentioned IDR 3.75 million as an entry fee.

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Previously the NTT government had been reminded to review NTT Governor Regulation Number 85 of 2022.

This review was submitted in a letter from the Minister of Environment and Forestry number: S312/MENLHK/KSDA/KSA.3/10/2022 dated 28 October 2022 which was signed by the Minister of Environment and Forestry, Siti Nurbaya.

The governor's regulation states that tourists who have not made a contribution are not allowed to visit Komodo Island, Padar Island and the surrounding area of 712.12 hectares. 

According to the Minister of Environment and Forestry, this is very contrary to laws and regulations because tourists have the freedom to use or access KPA areas as long as they pay a valid PNBP ticket according to Government Regulation Number 12 of 2014. 

In the Laws, Government Regulations, or Minister of Environment and Forestry Regulations, there is no single legal product that obliges the public to make contributions, especially forbidding the public from accessing or utilizing natural resources for the benefit of nature recreation if they do not provide or follow the recommendations for contributions as outlined in the Governor's Regulation in question. 

(TRIBUNBATAM.id/LIA SISVITA DINATRI)