Study: Tourism Taxes Play Growing Role in West Manggarai Revenue

Labuan Bajo — Tourism researchers have highlighted a sharp rise in visitor numbers to West Manggarai between 2022 and 2024, alongside evidence that tourism taxes are making a growing but still imperfect contribution to the regency’s locally generated revenue.

A study by Priska Yuliani, published in the 2025 volume of the journal JUMPA, analyses how hotel, restaurant and entertainment taxes from the tourism sector contributed to Manggarai Barat’s regional original revenue (PAD) over the 2022–2024 period.

The research concludes that tourism made a significant and increasing contribution to PAD, with hotel tax emerging as the most stable and dominant source among the three. According to interviews with officials cited in the paper, tourism-related taxes accounted for more than 30% of total PAD during the period studied.

Tourism as a driver of local revenue

Yuliani’s study uses a qualitative approach based on observation, in-depth interviews and documentation from local institutions, particularly the West Manggarai Regional Revenue Agency (Bapenda). It finds that tourism’s contribution to PAD shows a positive trend from year to year, even though PAD targets were not always met.

The paper reports that higher numbers of domestic and international visitors after the pandemic helped lift hotel, restaurant and entertainment tax receipts. This finding is broadly consistent with other academic work on West Manggarai, which has also identified tourism as a key source of local revenue, although earlier studies covering 2017–2021 classified overall tourism’s contribution to PAD as moderate on average.

Yuliani presents PAD targets and realisation figures for 2022–2024, showing that while tourism-related income increased, overall PAD did not always reach the levels planned by local government. In parallel, a regional diagnostic report prepared for Manggarai Barat’s administration notes that tourism has high elasticity with respect to local economic output and poverty reduction, reinforcing its strategic role in the regency’s growth.

Tax compliance and infrastructure gaps

The study identifies several obstacles to translating tourism growth into stronger fiscal performance. These include low compliance among some businesses in reporting taxes, weaknesses in monitoring and control, and limitations in basic infrastructure supporting tourism.

Yuliani notes that local authorities have pursued tax “intensification and extensification” measures, such as raising taxpayer awareness and expanding the number of taxable objects, to improve PAD. However, the paper indicates that results have been uneven, with tourism income still concentrated around the most popular destinations.

The research also finds that villages and smaller attractions have yet to make a substantial contribution to PAD, due in part to limited promotion and infrastructure. This aligns with the broader regional diagnostic, which describes a local economy still dominated by agriculture, forestry and fisheries in terms of gross regional product, even as tourism plays a growing role in employment and service-sector activity.

Visitor trends and policy debate

While Yuliani’s article focuses on tourism’s fiscal contribution rather than producing a full statistical series on visitor numbers, other sources shed light on recent trends.

Data from Manggarai Barat’s tourism office, cited in national media, show that Labuan Bajo and surrounding destinations attracted 423,847 visitors in 2023 and 411,349 in 2024, with local officials describing a slight decline in overall arrivals and a modest increase in revenue from regency-managed attractions. Another report on tourism receipts in 2024 states that 411,349 visitors travelled to Manggarai Barat that year, including more than 330,000 to Komodo National Park and around 77,000 to destinations outside the park.

These figures, drawn from local government and national park authorities, underline both the scale of tourism in West Manggarai and the continuing debate over how ticketing and tax policies distribute income between central agencies and the regency government.

Yuliani’s study concludes that tourism has the potential to support greater fiscal independence and sustainable development in Manggarai Barat if managed through an integrated strategy. It stresses that qualitative evidence alone cannot prove that tourism growth directly caused changes in PAD, but it underscores the sector’s central role in discussions of local revenue, infrastructure investment and long-term policy choices.

Sources

• JUMPA – Peran Sektor Pariwisata Terhadap Pendapatan Asli Daerah Kabupaten Manggarai Barat Tahun 2022–2024 (PDF)
• Aksioma – Pengukuran Kinerja Pemerintah Daerah: Kontribusi Sektor Pariwisata terhadap Pendapatan Asli Daerah pada Kabupaten Manggarai Barat
• Regional Diagnostic Report – Kabupaten Manggarai Barat (Bappeda)
• VOI – Jumlah Wisatawan di Mabar Alami Penurunan di Tahun 2024
• Detik – Cuan Pariwisata Labuan Bajo: BTNK Rp 53 Miliar, Pemda hanya Rp 2 Miliar