The West Manggarai Regional Government, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), expressed its support for the 1445 H Syawal Festival organized by LPPOM MUI. This is an effort to attract tourists from various groups, including Muslims. Thus, his party supports halal certification to be applied to all actors, especially in Kampung Ujung, Labuan Bajo. This was conveyed by the Regional Secretary of West Manggarai, Drs. Fransiskus Sales Sodo, who also represented the Regent of West Manggarai at the LPPOM 1445 H Syawal Festival on May 8, 2024.
“Visits to Komodo Island in 2023 experienced a 75% increase in tourists, in the first quarter of 2024 there was an increase of 45% in tourists and air passengers to Labuan Bajo this year grew by 16%. We [West Manggarai Regency Government] are quite optimistic that Labuan Bajo will become a favorite tourist destination with character,” said Fransiskus.
His party assessed that the existence of a halal certificate could strengthen the characteristics of Labuan Bajo tourism to be better to become a Muslim-friendly tourist area. His party encourages UMKM (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) to participate in realizing Labuan Bajo as a preferred domestic and international tourist destination. “We thank LPPOM and our friends from the Ministry who were involved in the LPPOM 1445 H Syawal Festival event, because we feel helped so that West Manggarai has experienced more significant progress than other DSPs [Super Priority Destinations] in Indonesia. We are also grateful for the support in providing free halal certification facilities for UMKM in Labuan Bajo. Hopefully, Labuan Bajo UMKM will continue to progress and be friendly to the foreign and domestic community,” said Fransiskus.
