The entrance fee to two of Komodo National Park’s main islands jumped 18 times overnight to 3.75 million rupiah (£205) on Monday, a jump that local workers said would scare off tourists and cause burnout of their incomes. Indonesia is home to around 3,300 rare Komodo dragons, which can reach 3 meters (10 feet) in length and can kill large prey with a single venomous bite. “This has caused uncertainty among us,” said Leo Ebo, a tour guide who belonged to one of the 24 local unions striking Tuesday. “We have decided to strike even when we suffer a loss here… this might as well be suicide.” Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST Kompas TV showed footage of clashes between police and protesters. Local media reported dozens of arrests, and Tourism Minister Santiago Uno on Monday urged workers to talk to the government. The islands in Indonesia’s East Nusa Tenggara province are a Unesco World Heritage Site and attracted nearly 222,000 visitors in 2019, before the pandemic hit. Annual numbers dropped to about a quarter in the following years, decimating businesses dependent on tourism. Indonesia has courted controversy in the past over its efforts to monetize the giant lizards, including an image of a dragon facing down a construction vehicle that sparked outrage when it went viral on social media in 2020.
