Indonesia Partners With Seven Chinese Travel Agencies to Market Labuan Bajo
Indonesia is seeking wider sales of Labuan Bajo and Flores vacation packages through a partnership linking seven Chinese travel agencies with the Tourism Ministry and the Labuan Bajo Flores Tourism Authority (BPOLBF).
Connecting agencies with local operators
The Wonderful Indonesia Business Matching for Chinese Travel Agents program brought the agencies together with 14 local businesses in Labuan Bajo, in West Manggarai District, East Nusa Tenggara Province. The Indonesian participants included lodging providers, travel agencies, tour-boat operators and sea transportation services.
The Chinese agencies were China Bamboo Garden, Hangzhou China Travel Service, GZL, BOBO Travel, China International Travel Service (Jiangsu), Shenzhen Dreamka and Charm Deer.
Speaking in Labuan Bajo on Saturday, Yulia, the ministry's assistant deputy for international tourism marketing, said China offered substantial growth potential for Indonesian destinations. She said she hoped the meetings would lead to business agreements that put more Indonesian tourism products into packages sold in China.
Petrus Antonius Rasyid, who heads West Manggarai's tourism, creative economy and culture office, welcomed the direct contact between local businesses and Chinese agencies. He said such partnerships could help Labuan Bajo reach a wider audience and attract more international visitors.
Chinese visitor numbers and national targets
Indonesia received 1.3 million Chinese tourists in 2025, according to Yulia. Arrivals through August 2026 had passed 1 million, a 16.46 percent increase from the corresponding period in 2025.
The government's 2026 goal is to attract up to 1.7 million Chinese tourists, China Daily reported on October 2. Its target for all foreign visitors is between 16 million and 17.6 million.
Chinese travelers also account for a substantial share of Labuan Bajo's visitors. According to China Daily, they made up 28.6 percent of the destination's 42,000 arrivals in April 2025. That total includes domestic and foreign visitors.
Labuan Bajo recorded 500,008 tourist visits in 2025, including 341,955 foreign visitor arrivals, according to figures presented in April 2026 by West Manggarai Regency Regional Secretary Fransiskus S. Sodo and reported by Kompas.id. The total was 25 percent higher than the figures for 2024 and 2023.
International access and tourism services
Labuan Bajo's expansion began after the Indonesian government named it a Super Priority Tourism Destination in 2016. Kompas.id described its subsequent transformation from a small port town on the western tip of Flores into a leading tourist city.
Komodo Airport received international status in April 2024, followed that September by its first scheduled international route, connecting Labuan Bajo and Kuala Lumpur, according to China Daily.
As of 2026, Scoot flies directly from Singapore three times a week, while AirAsia offers up to seven weekly flights from Kuala Lumpur. China Daily also reported that a Chinese-language center specializing in tourism opened in Labuan Bajo in May 2026.
Wider itineraries and park visitor limits
BPOLBF Acting President Director Andhy MT Marpaung said experiencing the destination in person was important in encouraging agencies to design packages for Chinese travelers.
"Through this familiarization trip, travel agents can experience Labuan Bajo firsthand rather than just see it in photos, making their tour packages more compelling," Andhy said.
He asked agencies to include more of Flores' natural and cultural attractions rather than focusing only on Komodo and Padar islands. Wider-ranging trips could lengthen stays and bring tourism income to communities in more parts of Flores.
Komodo National Park remains a major destination: a 2024 BPOLBF market survey, cited by Kompas.id, found that the park accounted for 48 percent of foreign tourists' destinations.
Since April 1, 2026, the Ministry of Forestry has capped tourist visits to the park at 1,000 people a day, or 365,000 a year, to prevent overtourism. The restrictions cover Padar, Komodo and Rinca islands, along with 23 dive sites inside the park.
According to Kompas.id, the limits followed carrying-capacity studies conducted in 2018 and 2022, a trial that began in May 2025 and monitoring that continued until February 2026.