Indonesia’s Komodo dragons are endangered. But are tourists willing to pay US$250, instead of $10, to see them?

Jakarta is trying to attract more visitors to the giant lizards to boost tourism, but also protect the environment around their Unesco site home

Now there’s a row, not for the first time, over the government’s latest plan to restrict the number who see the creatures, and bring in a massive price rise

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The Indonesian government has put up admission fees to see endangered Komodo dragons in a national park, the only place in the world the giant lizards are found in the wild. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 2:00pm, 17 Jul 2022Updated: 3:31pm, 17 Jul 2022

Tourists to Indonesia’s iconic Komodo National Park will have to shell out nearly US$250 from next month, instead of US$10, to see the deadly wild and endangered Komodo ‘dragons’ up close, as Jakarta grapples with promoting the tourism sector post-pandemic while trying to safeguard the environment.

The more expensive tickets will allow people to visit as many times as they like in a year, instead of once, although the annual number of visitors will be restricted to 200,000, down from around 300,000, the government said.

Located in East Nusa Tenggara, the nation’s southernmost province, the park – a protected site for decades – is the natural habitat of the dragons, the world’s largest and heaviest lizards. They are not found anywhere else in the world, except in zoos.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature estimates there are only about 1,380 adult Komodo dragons and 2,000 juveniles left in the wild –all in the national park – down from 5,000-8,000 some 25 years ago. The organisation warns that the dragons’ habitat is likely to dwindle by at least 30 per cent in the next 45 years.

Often around three metres long, the creatures, which have been known to kill humans, have roamed the region for millions of years and are known for their poisonous venom and acute sense of smell.

The area where the Komodo dragons live is one renowned for its beauty, including a pink sand beach. Photo: Resty Woro Yuniar

The park includes the main islands of Komodo, Padar and Rinca as well as 26 smaller ones, with breathtaking views of sprawling green hills, free-roaming deer and pink sandy beaches. The surrounding waters are famed for being snorkelling and diving hotspots.