Tourism agency: Komodo Island will shut down for a year in 2020
It seems Komodo Island will be closed to the public for a year beginning in 2020.
A temporary one-year closure has been mooted for several months and the East Nusa Tenggara Tourism Office says Indonesian President Joko Widodo has agreed to the closure.
"It is certain that we will close Komodo island to the public," said Wayan Darmawa, head of the tourism office, following discussions with government officials from the environment and forestry ministry.
East Nusa Tenggara Governor Viktor B. Laiskodat had pushed for a temporary closure due to concerns over unchecked growth of arrivals.
"We will rehabilitate Komodo Island," he said.
More than 176,000 tourists visited the Komodo National Park last year, up by more than a third.
The President had agreed some restrictions were needed to protect the region’s prized assets – the Komodo Dragons, and their habitat.
They are found nowhere else on earth except for a handful of islands within the Komodo National Park.
The iconic lizards are still found in fairly large numbers on nearby Rinca Island, which will remain open to the public.
They also inhabit the island of Gili Montang and a small area on the main island of Flores.
If the temporary closure does go ahead – there has been no official word from the central government yet – it is unclear if any further restrictions will be placed on daily visitor numbers.
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