"How's this for adventure tourism? A close encounter with a 10-foot long lizard with razor-sharp teeth and a venomous bite from a mouth swimming in noxious bacteria.
It can be yours in Komodo National Park in Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara province, about an hour's flight east of Bali. It's one of the areas the central government has targeted in its plan to create "10 new Balis" in order to meet its goal of 20 million tourist arrivals to Indonesia this year — 5 million more than last year.
But local officials and conservationists warn that Bali, which alone saw 5 million tourists last year — about a third of Indonesia's total — may not be an ideal model. They argue that over-tourism could threaten the well-being of the park's diverse wildlife, including the Komodo dragon, which is classified as a vulnerable species.
The park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site spanning 29 islands, is home to some 5,500 Komodo dragons, the world's largest lizard species, usually weighing about 150 pounds."
