Komodo dragon gateway town risks overtourism as it emerges as holiday hot spot

Indonesian seaside town has to battle overdevelopment as it rapidly turns into a 'new Bali'

- Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja

LABUAN BAJO - A small seaside town known as the gateway to the land of the dragons - specifically the Komodo kind - has roared to life over the past decade, after it was first positioned as one of Indonesia's "10 New Balis" in a 2016 tourism push by the government.

Located at the western tip of Flores Island in East Nusa Tenggara, Labuan Bajo is most famous for being the stepping stone to the famed Komodo National Park, a Unesco World Heritage site that is the largest habitat of its namesake reptile, the Komodo dragon.

But amid the buzz of a busy airport runway and waters studded with hotel boats and modern vessels, experts warn that it must avoid falling into overtourism, overdevelopment and environmental negligence - issues that affect tourist hot spot Bali.

The "10 New Balis" strategy targets specific locations such as Labuan Bajo to receive funding for infrastructure development. The aims are to alleviate overtourism in Bali, and spread tourist revenue and boost regional economies within South-east Asia's most populous country.

Other locations include Lake Toba in North Sumatra, Mandalika in Lombok and Likupang in North Sulawesi.

The focus on these new areas has led to significant changes, such as the construction of an international motorcycle racing track in Mandalika that has hosted the FIM Superbike World Championship since 2021 and MotoGP Grand Prix motorcycle races since 2022.

But Labuan Bajo, which is a three-hour flight from Singapore and 2 1/2 hours from Jakarta, stands out as it booked the largest incremental gains in terms of foreign tourist visits.

Its main attraction, Komodo National Park, welcomed 334,206 visitors in 2024, two-thirds of whom were foreign tourists. In 2016, it saw about 100,000 visitors. Almost all tourists going to Labuan Bajo visit Komodo National Park.