TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) provincial government has responded to the unpleasant incident of extortion experienced by tourists and YouTuber Jajago Keliling Indonesia in the Ratenggaro Traditional Village, Southwest Sumba Regency (SBD), on Sunday, May 12, 2025. The video of the incident was uploaded on social media a few days later and became viral.
Governor of Nusa Tenggara Timur Melkiades Laka Lena considered the incident damaging to the tourism image of the island-based province. He hoped that this incident would be the last in NTT. "We hope this will be the last time because it damages the tourism name in NTT, especially in Sumba," he said, as quoted by Antara, on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.
He asked the Head of NTT Tourism Agency Noldi Pellokila to coordinate with the SBD Tourism Agency and other regencies with similar potential to what happened in Ratenggaro. According to him, tourism in the Ratenggaro traditional village is community-based, so there should be a clear consensus with the local community on profit sharing.
"In addition, the governance must be clear, and solutions must be found for issues like what happened in SBD," he said.
NTT Ensures Tourists' Comfort
Head of NTT Tourism and Creative Economy Agency Noldi Pellokila stated that the provincial government requested every regional leader in Southwest Sumba Regency (SBD) to ensure the safety and comfort of tourists visiting tourist locations. Regarding the incident in Ratenggaro, he admitted to having prepared a letter to be sent to the Regent of SBD.
Noldi said that this case serves as a lesson for every region that has villages with many tourist visits. He mentioned that the province has many tourism villages but has not yet determined their tourism village status, so they are not managed properly.
"If there are tourism villages, there will certainly be tourism awareness groups (Pokdarwis). These Pokdarwis will manage the tourism village," he said to Antara on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.
He stated that the Pokdarwis can organize tourism from managing parking, overseeing the tourist area, to managing the comfort and safety of visiting tourists.
He said he will soon facilitate all tourism agencies in regencies/cities in NTT to provide training and determine the status of tourism villages and facilitate the formation of tourism awareness groups. This is one effort to anticipate undesired incidents like unauthorized fees.
Unauthorized Fees in Ratenggaro
The viral video on social media revealed unauthorized fees charged to YouTuber couple John and Riana, owners of the Jajago Keliling Indonesia account, on Sunday, May 12, 2025. They claimed to have been asked for money that did not match the agreement by children and adults during their visit to the village.
In the video, they engaged in several tourist activities, such as taking photos, riding horses, and flying a drone. Some children were seen following them and asking for fees that, according to John, did not align with the previous agreement.
"When paying, they asked for more. Renting a horse was initially agreed at 50,000, but they demanded 75,000. Photography services were initially agreed at 10,000, but demanded 25,000," they wrote in the video description uploaded on Instagram.
In another video, they also showed fees charged to them while passing through a road after leaving the tourist village towards Tambaloka, the capital of SBD.
"Luckily, they only asked for money. However, the issue is not about the amount, but their action of stopping vehicles passing by, along with several children who also seemed to be taught to do similar actions. Truly saddening," stated the description in the video uploaded on Sunday, May 18, 2025.
John, contacted last Sunday, confirmed the incident. He hoped this video would be used for evaluation to improve tourism in NTT, especially in Sumba. He mentioned that NTT is very beautiful, and its residents are kind. "During five months of traveling around NTT, NTT is safe. Only Ratenggaro is strange," he said.
Ratenggaro Traditional Village captivates tourists by combining natural beauty and unique culture. The village is located on the coast. Its uniqueness lies in the thousands-year-old stone graves and traditional houses with people who still adhere to traditions in their daily lives.
Antara contributed to the writing of this article.
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