"The visit by the honorable guests is an honor for NTT, especially the people of Komodo Island and its surroundings. Their attention should be appreciated by all parties in this region," NTT Governor Frans Lebu Raya said here on Friday.

NTT`s people should be motivated by the visit of the New7Wonders team and former vice president M Jusuf Kalla, to vote for Komodo Island, a finalist in the New7Wonders of Nature competition.

Jusuf Kalla urged the people of West Manggarai in particular and Indonesia in general to support Komodo Island by typing KOMODO on their cellphones and sending it to 9818.

He said the support is a must because the komodo dragon was the only surviving prehistoric animal on Earth.

"There is no prehistoric animal but the komodo dragon. Therefore we must support it to become one of the New7Wonders," he said.

Kalla was optimistic that the komodo will get enough votes to become one of the New7Wonders of Nature.

More tourists will come to East Nusa Tenggara if Komodo Island is included in the list of the New7Wonders, according to Kalla.

Voting for the New7Wonders of Nature will end on November 11, 2011 (11/11/11) at 11:11 am GMT, which is around 13 days from Friday (Oct 28), and the preliminary results will be announced later on November 11.