Strengthening Indonesian Maritime Affairs through Promoting the Superior Maritime Region of Labuan Bajo in the Form of Animated Short Films

Abstract Currently, the Indonesian government is developing super priority tourist attractions, one of which is in the Labuan Bajo area. The results of our research show that Bajo is the name of the sea tribe that inhabits this coastal area. This name reflects the maritime history and life of the Bajo tribe which is very dependent on the sea. The charm of Labuan Bajo does not only lie in its natural beauty and sea landscape, what is interesting in Labuan Bajo is the Way of Life or the living culture of the Bajau tribe which can adapt physically to aquatic life. The profile of the Labuan Bajo community has become one of the inspirations for the international box office film, namely Avatar 2. The film Avatar 2 was successful in becoming the highest grossing film. This then underlies this idea, to create a “ Manusia Ikan ” character and a story about the waters of Labuan Bajo. So far, tourism promotion has only been limited to video exploration of tourist attractions. Labuan Bajo does not have a unique character design which is visualized in the form of a Complete Proposal film. Matching Fund 2023 is based on local content as a promotional icon that can be “top of mind” for potential tourists. The importance of the role of character design in the process of designing a film is the background that underlies the creation of “Concept Art which includes the concept of a fantasy world with character designs inspired by” local Indonesian content. Through the development of character designs and the story of “ Manusia Ikan ” in the form of an animated film, it becomes a commercialization and distribution strategy so that it can have a high license selling value, both domestically and abroad so that it can become a promotional medium for Labuan Bajo tourism and improve the economy public.