The Conscious Traveller
Beyond Labuan Bajo: Traditional villages and crafts in Flores
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Flores’ interior offers cultural sites such as caves and villages, attracting tourists beyond Labuan Bajo.
PHOTO: JOSH EDWARDS
Leyla Rose
- Flores' interior, especially Ruteng, offers unique cultural sites attracting tourists beyond Labuan Bajo.
- Local women entrepreneurs in Ruteng use loans from Amartha fintech to grow traditional craft businesses, selling songket sarongs and woven mats to support their families.
- Tourism growth in Ruteng is rising with government support, improving local livelihoods.
AI generated
FLORES, Indonesia – Most people who visit Flores head straight to the port town of Labuan Bajo, the gateway to Komodo National Park. Known for its Komodo dragons, postcard-perfect beaches and some of Indonesia’s best snorkelling and diving sites, the park has seen a large increase in tourist numbers.
Labuan Bajo received 500,000 visitors in 2025, up from 170,100 in 2022, based on data from the Labuan Bajo Immigration Office – partly owing to direct flights from Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and tourist hubs in Indonesia like Bali and Lombok.