JAKARTA: A government run system that aims to promote sustainable tourism in the popular Komodo National Park in East Nusa Tenggara was launched here.
The Wildlife Komodo System is now up and running to also ensure better efficiency in administration of the destination by the provincial government and the park, reported the Antara news agency.
Head of the NTT Provincial Tourism and Creative Economy Office, Zet Sony Libing, said the system can be accessed via the government INISA application.
"Through the system, I expect that (tourism) management at Komodo Island, Padar Island, and the surrounding waters can perform better," Libing said.
INISA is a digital platform developed by the provincial government, Bank of NTT, and PT Digital Pemerintahan Indonesia that provides access for various public services, including the payment of regional tax, electricity bill, as well as the National Health Insurance (JKN).
It also provides various tourism services, such as airline ticket booking, hotel reservation and car rental.
Coordinator for Program Improvement of the Function of the national park, Carolina Noge, said the Wildlife Komodo System was developed to serve as a tool for tourism visit governance at the national park.
The data will record the number, identity, and destinations of visitors in the area, she said adding it will also assist in monitoring the park, including to conduct security patrol around the region.
Noge said the management also aims to address various problems in the national park, for instance, congestion of tourists, that may affect the behavior of komodo dragons.
In addition, other problems include waste, damaged coral reefs, illegal hunting and fishing, use of tiger trawls, as well as overfishing, she said.
"The loss of value of the area's ecosystem services is projected to damage the komodo dragons' habitat," Noge stressed.
From August tourists are required to register through the application to be able to visit Komodo National Park. It also applies to travel agents, who provide tourism services to the destination.
At the same time, the NTT provincial government will start to implement a visitor quota system and increase the cost to visit Komodo Island, Padar Island, and the surrounding waters to 3.75 million rupiah (USD249.45) per person, both for domestic and foreign tourists.