Manggarai Barat Sustainability Assessment Cites 259,574 Visitor Trips in 2023

Labuan Bajo — A sustainable-tourism assessment for Manggarai Barat cites 259,574 visitor trips in 2023, using data from the East Nusa Tenggara provincial statistics office, according to the assessment report published by the local planning agency and WWF Indonesia.

The figure appears in the final report of the self-assessment, titled Laporan Akhir Penilaian Mandiri Pembangunan Pariwisata Berkelanjutan Manggarai Barat. The report says the number is drawn from BPS Nusa Tenggara Timur and is presented alongside a broader review of tourism sustainability in the regency.

The assessment was conducted from March to November 2023 and applied the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy’s 2021 sustainable-destination framework, which the report says covers four dimensions: sustainable management, social and economic sustainability, cultural sustainability, and environmental sustainability.

Its methodology included stakeholder discussions, interviews and validation visits to local institutions, including the Labuan Bajo Flores Tourism Authority and Komodo National Park authorities, before indicators were scored on a one-to-four scale, according to the report.

The visitor total is best read as a reported annual tourism figure for Manggarai Barat rather than a detailed breakdown of arrivals by category. The report excerpt does not specify whether the 259,574 refers to domestic visitors, international visitors, overnight guests or another counting unit.

What the report says

According to the document, the assessment used information from local and provincial sources to evaluate destination performance across governance, social-economic, cultural and environmental criteria. It also compares some findings with an earlier 2019 assessment.

The report describes 2023 as a year of rising tourism activity after the pandemic period, and places the visitor figure within that wider recovery narrative.

How to read the number

Because tourism statistics can measure different things, the figure should not be treated as interchangeable with airport arrivals, park entries or hotel guest counts unless the same methodology is confirmed. The report itself does not provide enough detail to make that comparison.

For planners and readers tracking Labuan Bajo, the number is useful as a reported benchmark from the sustainability assessment, but it does not on its own show the full scale or composition of tourism demand in the destination.

Sources

• BAPPEDA Kabupaten Manggarai Barat / WWF Indonesia
• BPS Kabupaten Manggarai Barat