More local scuba divers and diving instructors are needed in
the Komodo National Park, West Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT),
following the surge in tourist numbers, especially diving enthusiasts,
on the island over the past few years.
“As many as 80 percent of
the thousands of tourists spending their vacation at the Komodo
National Park are diving enthusiasts. In the past couple of years, the
number of domestic tourists spending their vacation there on marine
excursions has gradually increased,” said Nurdin Rais, head of the West
Manggarai Komodo Flores Dive Guide Association (WMKFDGA).
He said 50 percent of the diving guides operating in the Komodo National Park were from outside the regency, or from overseas.
Local
diving guides realize that one of the basic stumbling blocks is the
lack of local diving instructors who can instruct fishermen, thus
transforming traditional divers who tend to be destructive into modern
and recreational divers, Nurdin continued.
The issue was
discussed during the launch of the Dive Guide Training Program, set up
to transform traditional divers into diving instructors, organized by
the Komodo Kita Foundation, Bank Negara Indonesia, the West Manggarai
administration and the Scuba School International recently.
“As
an initial step, the regency should encourage potential dive masters to
join higher education programs to become dive instructors. In this the
Komodo Kita Foundation [YKK] has answered our wish,” he said.
He
said it would be a good opportunity for prospective local dive
instructors because more than 80 live-aboard vessels operating in the
Komodo waters were currently providing diving services.
The vessels employ more than 50 foreign diving instructors due to the lack of local instructors.
The
Komodo National Park, which includes Komodo, Rinca and Padar islands,
is home to Komodo dragons and other species. The Komodo National Park
was named a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site in 1991.
After
being nominated as one of the new seven wonders of nature in 2011 and
later named as a new wonder of nature in 2012, the park has seen an
increase in tourist arrivals, with 40,000 visitors in the first half of
2012.
The island’s tourist arrivals stood at 50,000 throughout
2011, while more than 40,000 tourists visited the island in 2010,
according to the NTT Culture and Tourism Agency.
Saleh, an
employee at the Komodo National Park, said visitors who were fascinated
with the undersea beauty of the Komodo National Park repeatedly engaged
in diving.
They spend between one and one-and-a-half hours
sightseeing in the park and the rest of their vacation is spent diving
and observing the marine beauty of the underwater world.
West
Manggarai Tourism Agency head Theodorus Suardi said the regency
administration had given full support to educating residents in West
Manggarai about the tourism sector, including training master scuba
divers to become diving instructors to cater to tourists vacationing
around the islands.
“The West Manggarai regency administration
is not yet familiar with catering to tourists at the underwater resorts.
The government is ready to provide assistance by issuing clear
regulations,” said Theodorus.
Later this year, West Manggarai is
also set to stage Sail Komodo, an annual international maritime event
that takes place in Labuan Bajo. The event, scheduled to be held in
September, is part of the government’s efforts to promote NTT as a world
tourist destination
Markus Makur, The Jakarta Post
related post :
KOMODO ISLAND
Preparation for the SAIL Komodo 2013
No comments:
Post a Comment