Wakatobi Regency

Wakatobi Regency
Regency
Seal
Country	Indonesia
Province	Southeast Sulawesi
Capital	Wanci
Population (2010 Census)
• Total	92,922
Time zone	WIB (UTC+7)

Wakatobi is the name of an archipelago and regency located in an area of Sulawesi Tenggara Province (Southeast Sulawesi), Indonesia. The name Wakatobi is an acronym of the names of the main islands that form the archipelago: Wangi-wangi Island, Kaledupa, Tomia, and Binongko. The group is part of a larger group called the Tukangbesi Islands. The Regency capital, Wanci, is located on Wangi-wangi Island.

The archipelago is located in the biodiverse hotspot known as Wallacea. It is part of the Wakatobi National Park.

Administration

The regency is divided into eight districts (kecamatan), tabulated below with their 2010 Census population.^[1]

Flight Hub

The main flight hub of the Wakatobi archipelago is Matahora Airport on Wangiwangi Island; a separate airstrip is also present on Tomea Island which is used exclusively to transport visitors of the Wakatobi Dive Resort. A number of airlines fly to Wakatobi including Wings Air and Express Air. A Memorandum of Understanding between Express Air and Wakatobi administration has been signed to open daily flight from Wakatobi-Ambon v.v. since February 24, 2012 use jet aircraft CN-FO166 basic 328-300 with 30 seating capacity. 60 percent of Maluku people come from Southeast Sulawesi, mainly from Wakatobi. Furthermore express Air will make Wakatobi as a flight hub due to Wakatobi lies between Banda Sea and Flores Sea. The next routes to be open are Wakatobi-Lembata, Kupang, Denpasar (Bali), Labuan Bajo, Ende, Maumere and Larantuka.^[2]

Acitivities

Sail Wakatobi-Belitong will be held in Wakatobi in July 2011 and in Belitung Island in August 2011. Wakatobi will make a mass wedding under the sea event. As a part of Sail Wakatobi-Belitong, the organizing committee launch also International undersea photo contest with theme: "The Beauty of Under Water World Coral Reef Triangle" and will be initialized after the Sail Wakatobi-Belitong is launched on July 16, 2011.^[3][4] To support Sail Wakatobi-Belitong, Transportation ministry has given fund Rp.70 billion ($8.1 million) to improve Wangi-Wangi port, Kaledupa port and Tomea Island port which will be finished before the event runs.^[5]

The Wakatobi is also home to Operation Wallacea, a UK based for non-profit conservation group looking at sustainable development of fisheries and coral reef research. An independent non-commercial website ^[6] has been set up about the marine park. This website contains tourist and travel information about the wakatobi, with additional resources about the biodiversity, conservation and local people.

In popular culture

A collaborative work of WWF-Indonesia, the Wakatobi administration and SET Film Workshop has portrayed the marine biodiversity with underwater scenery around the Wakatobi Islands and the life of the Bajo tribe, the sea nomads who rely entirely on marine resources for survival in the film Mirror Never Lies, which got "Honorable Mention" at the Global Film Initiative.^[7]

Tourism

In 2013, tourists came to Wakatobi Regency are 11,650 persons.^[8]

References

External links

• (Indonesian) Wakatobi page on the Sulawesi Tenggara gov site
• Seagrass Research in the Wakatobi

v t e Regencies and cities of Southeast Sulawesi Capital: Kendari Regencies Bombana Buton Kolaka Konawe Muna North Buton North Kolaka North Konawe South Konawe Wakatobi Cities Bau-Bau Kendari See also: List of regencies and cities of Indonesia

Coordinates: 5°32′09″S 123°45′29″E / 5.53583°S 123.75806°E / -5.53583; 123.75806