The Kelimutu National Park Office, Ende district, East Nusa Tenggara, has reported that the number of international tourist visits to Lake Kelimutu increased significantly from 872 in July 2022 to 1,243 in August.
“There has been a significant increase in foreign tourist visits to Kelimutu National Park due to several factors, such as the opening of flight routes from overseas to Indonesia and the holiday season in Europe,” Head of the office Hendrikus Rani Siga informed when contacted from here on Tuesday.
According to Siga, in addition to the two factors, the increase in tourist visits was strongly influenced by the improving COVID-19 conditions in Indonesia, which made tourists feel more confident about traveling.
Intensive promotions during the COVID-19 pandemic helped attract lots of tourists to the tri-colored lake, too, he said.
While the number of foreign tourists has continued to increase since February, the number of domestic tourists has fallen to reach 5,258 in August, according to data for 2022 from the Kelimutu National Park.
In July, the number of domestic tourists was recorded at 8,850. Siga said the increase was caused by the opening of inter-island flight routes.
Based on the existing data, the total visits by foreign and domestic tourists in August reached 6,501, down from 9,722 in July.
Meanwhile, head of the Ende District Tourism Office, Martinus Satban, said that various efforts have been made to promote Lake Kelimutu on Flores Island.
The Ende district government has been striving to increase and improve the number and quality of tourism activities and develop tourist attractions and villages.
In addition, the local administration has also made efforts to improve the quality of tourism human resources through the provision of training and mentoring on tourism village management.
Source: Antara News