How much tourism investment and employment does Labuan Bajo generate?

Investment in Manggarai Barat’s tourism economy reached more than Rp1.8 trillion in 2025, with hotels and restaurants taking the largest share, but the investment data also show that tourism employment extends beyond accommodation. The reported projects covered 15 subsectors and absorbed 1,340 workers, according to Manggarai Barat’s investment office as reported by detikcom in 2026.

How large was tourism-related investment?

Investment realised in Manggarai Barat during 2025 was Rp1,883,114,093,532 across 15 subsectors, according to the Manggarai Barat Investment and One-Stop Integrated Services Office, as reported by detikcom on February 7, 2026.

Hotels and restaurants accounted for more than Rp1.6 trillion, making them the largest reported investment grouping. Other leading categories included other services, housing and industrial or office areas, transport and warehousing or telecommunications, and trade and repair, according to the same report.

How many investors were involved?

The report identified 163 investors in accommodation businesses, ranging from star-rated hotels to guesthouses, and 72 investors in restaurants during 2025, according to the Manggarai Barat investment office.

These figures count investors or companies recorded in the investment report, not the total number of tourism businesses operating in Labuan Bajo or the number of people who own them.

How many jobs did the investment create?

The 15 investment sectors absorbed 1,340 workers, including 1,286 Indonesian workers and 54 foreign workers, according to the Manggarai Barat investment office’s 2025 investment data reported on February 7, 2026.

The employment figure covers all 15 sectors in the investment report, rather than hotels and restaurants alone. It therefore shows the wider labour effect of investment across Manggarai Barat’s tourism-linked economy.

What does the official tourism data add?

BPS Manggarai Barat publishes separate indicators for accommodation supply, hotel-room occupancy and visitor activity. Its July 2025 tourism and transport release shows why business conditions cannot be represented by investment totals alone: supply, room use and visitor movement are measured as different indicators, according to BPS-Statistics Indonesia Manggarai Barat Regency, 2025.

For operators and investors, the clearest reading is that capital is concentrated in hospitality and food services, while the employment total includes a broader set of sectors. Investment value, investor counts, jobs, occupancy and visitor numbers therefore answer different business questions.

Sources

• detikcom
• BPS-Statistics Indonesia Manggarai Barat Regency