Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - On Tuesday, hundreds of Indonesian tourism workers went on strike in protest at a significant increase i...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - On Tuesday, hundreds of Indonesian tourism workers went on strike in protest at a significant increase in the cost of admission to visit the nation's fabled Komodo dragons, a move the government claims is necessary to protect the habitat of one of the largest lizards in the world.
The cost to enter two of the park's main islands increased 18 times in one night to 3.75 million rupiah ($252.10) on Monday. Local workers predicted that this increase would frighten off tourists and cause a decline in their income.
About 3,300 of the rare Komodo dragons, which can grow up to 10 feet (3 metres) in length and can kill enormous animals with a single venomous bite, are found in Indonesia.
Leo Embo, a tour guide who belongs to one of the 24 local workers' associations now on strike over the admission rates, stated, "This has produced anxiety among us."
We chose to strike even though we were experiencing a loss at work; this may pass for suicide.
On Tuesday, KompasTV aired images of a confrontation between demonstrators and police. Numerous arrests were reported by the local media, and Sandiaga Uno, the tourism minister, asked workers to speak with the government on Monday.
Prior to the pandemic, about 222,000 people visited the pristine islands in Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara region, which are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In the years that followed, annual numbers decreased to about a fourth of that, decimating enterprises that depend on tourism.
Indonesia has courted controversy in the past over government efforts to make money from the enormous lizards, like when a photo of a dragon battling a construction vehicle went popular on social media in 2020 and incited uproar.
$1 equals 14,875,000 rupiah.
