New7Wonders participation boosts Komodo visitors

Since being nominated as a finalist in the New7Wonders competition, visitors to Komodo Island have rocketed, according to the Regent of Manggarai Barat in East Nusa Tenggara province, where the island is located.
The number of tourists visiting the island has increased by 300 percent,” Agustinus Ch. Dulla said on Sunday, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.
He said that although the competition had attracted controversy over its legitimacy, it had significantly contributed to the popularity of the island itself.
In 2009, the island welcomed around 15,000 tourists, which rose in 2010 with around 43,000 visiting the island.
“For 2011, we are targeting up to 50,000 people to visit Komodo Island,” Agustinus said.
However, he acknowledged that this rising popularity should be matched with better infrastructure on the island. He said that there were several facilities, such as a hospital, airport and port, which all had to be built to support the island's growth.
Komodo Island is one of 28 New7Wonders finalists and is hoping to be named one of seven of the world’s natural beauties. The final stage of the New7Wonders of Nature campaign began in July 2009, after 28 finalists were named out of 77 short-listed candidates.
According to the New7Wonders website, new7wonders.com, support for Komodo Island has been drastically increasing, placing it in the top-10 at the latest count.
Other finalists receiving impressive amounts of votes are Kilimanjaro (Tanzania), Sundarbans (Bangladesh, India), Halong Bay (Vietnam), Matterhon/Cervino (Italy/Switzerland), Jeita Groto (Lebanon), Mud Volcanoes (Azerbaijan), Cliffs of Moher (Ireland), Masurian Lake District (Poland) and Bu Tinah Island (United Arab Emirates).