Bank Indonesia programs boost community tourism at Wae Lolos

Labuan Bajo — — Bank Indonesia’s Nusa Tenggara Timur representative office has been supporting community-based tourism enterprises at Wae Lolos village through intensive MSME bootcamps and infrastructure aid, with the local Pokdarwis Cunca Plias working closely with counterparts from Golo Loni in East Manggarai.

While the draft referred to a tourism bootcamp in Wae Lolos on 5 September 2026, available reports point instead to a two-day Bootcamp UMKM Sektor Pariwisata hosted by Bank Indonesia NTT in Kupang on 25–26 May 2026, and to an earlier tourism bootcamp bringing Pokdarwis Golo Loni to Wae Lolos on 16–17 October 2025.

Bank Indonesia’s tourism MSME bootcamps

According to regional news outlet NTT Aktual, Bank Indonesia NTT and the provincial tourism and creative economy office held the Bootcamp UMKM Sektor Pariwisata 2026 at the central bank’s Kupang office on 25–26 May 2026, with 30 tourism-related MSMEs participating.

The program focused on strengthening human resources and MSME competitiveness in NTT’s tourism sector, covering topics such as provincial tourism policy, destination development and promotion, green tourism and hospitality, business model canvases, English for tourism and access to finance.

Separately, Wae Lolos’ local site WisataWaeLolos.com reports that Bank Indonesia fully facilitated a two-day tourism MSME bootcamp at the “Seribu Air Terjun” Wae Lolos destination on 16–17 October 2025, bringing Pokdarwis Golo Loni from East Manggarai for an “inspirational visit” and joint training with Pokdarwis Cunca Plias.

The 2025 Wae Lolos bootcamp promoted digital marketing strategies, integrated destination management, innovation in tourism products and services based on local wisdom, and improved hospitality standards for local guides and MSME operators.

Wae Lolos and Pokdarwis Cunca Plias

Wae Lolos, branded locally as the “village of a thousand waterfalls”, is a community-run tourism destination in Sano Nggoang district, West Manggarai.

The Cunca Plias waterfall cluster and multiple nearby sites in Wae Lolos are managed by Pokdarwis Cunca Plias, a tourism awareness group formed in 2023 that now runs visitor registration, guiding and basic facilities with support from Bank Indonesia and conservation group Burung Indonesia.

A 2026 guide published by Indahnesia describes Cunca Plias as a four-waterfall trek ending in an infinity pool overlooking the Flores hills, noting that Pokdarwis Cunca Plias operates the site with mandatory local guides, a small entrance fee and parking charges for vehicles.

Media Indonesia and other Indonesian outlets report that Bank Indonesia NTT has financed the construction of a farm road to improve access to eight waterfalls in Wae Lolos, including Cunca Plias, Tiwu Galong, Kolam Atas Awan and Cunca Lolos, as part of efforts to boost rural tourism linked to Labuan Bajo’s hinterland.

Recognition and collaboration

Pokdarwis Cunca Plias has become one of NTT’s most prominent community tourism groups, receiving national and regional awards for its work.

Coverage in Republika and JMDN notes that Wae Lolos and Pokdarwis Cunca Plias placed among the top village tourism initiatives in Indonesia’s Wonderful Indonesia Award in December 2025 and won first place in Bank Indonesia NTT’s “best coached tourism village” category in November 2025.

The WisataWaeLolos.com report on the October 2025 bootcamp highlights how the visit by Pokdarwis Golo Loni was meant to build cross-district collaboration, with members of the East Manggarai group learning from Wae Lolos’ digital promotion and product development and sharing their own experiences as a rising village destination.

These bootcamps and infrastructure programs form part of Bank Indonesia NTT’s broader strategy of using training, technology and physical access improvements to strengthen community tourism enterprises across the province and connect them to the wider visitor flows around Labuan Bajo.

Outstanding questions for Wae Lolos

Publicly available reports do not yet detail whether the May 2026 tourism bootcamp in Kupang included representatives from Pokdarwis Cunca Plias or Golo Loni, nor do they specify follow-up financing packages or formal links to Labuan Bajo tour operators.

For now, what can be verified is a series of Bank Indonesia-supported capacity-building and infrastructure initiatives for community tourism MSMEs at Wae Lolos, and a documented 2025 bootcamp that brought together Pokdarwis Cunca Plias and Pokdarwis Golo Loni.

Sources

• WisataWaeLolos.com – Pokdarwis Cunca Plias - Golo Loni Perkuat Sinergi Lintas Kabupaten Dalam Bootcamp Bank Indonesia
• NTT Aktual – Bootcamp UMKM Pariwisata 2026: Perkuat Daya Saing Pariwisata dan UMKM NTT
• Indahnesia – Cunca Plias Waterfall: A 2026 Pocket Guide
• Media Indonesia – Jalan Usaha Tani Permudah Akses Wisatawan ke 8 Air Terjun
• JMDN – Pokdarwis Jadi Kekuatan Bangun Desa Wisata
• Republika – Pokdarwis Cunca Plias Harumkan Manggarai Barat di Ajang Nasional
• Viva.co.id – Wae Lolos! Desa 1000 Air Terjun di Pegunungan Labuan Bajo