TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The government has revealed its plan to significantly increase entry fees to one of UNESCO’s world heritage sites, Borobudur Temple, in an attempt to better preserve the 9th-century Buddhist temple. Entry fees are planned to be set at Rp750,000 for domestic tourists (equivalent to 51 US Dollars in current exchange rates) and 100 US Dollars for international tourists.

This was recently announced by the Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs and Investments Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan. He also plans to limit daily visitations to 1,200 people, Antaranews reported.

However, the president director of Borobudur, Prambanan, and Ratu Boko Temples, Edy Setijono explains that the steep prices will only be charged to tourists who plan to enter the actual temple section while the normal fee of Rp50,000 will still apply to those who only enter Borobudur’s park area.

“The regular entry fee for visitations that are limited to the temple’s surrounding area remains the same with Rp50,000 for local tourists and USD25 for international tourists,” said Edy on Sunday, June 5, “[The new prices] are only to explore the actual temple.”

Edy explains that the Borobudur Temple has shown signs of deterioration, which management believes is caused by over-tourism. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the temple’s average daily visitation reached levels of 10,000 daily tourists while the site was closed during the pandemic.

Management insists that the new entry fees are not motivated by commercial reasons as students are prioritized and given the bigger portion of the visitation quota with 25 percent of the daily 1,200 visitations and are also only charged Rp5,000 (roughly 35 cents in current exchanges) to enter the temple.

He believes that imposing these new prices will filter tourists who explore the temple and make sure that they are people who are there to actually learn about the history of one of the largest Buddhist temples in Southeast Asia.

“Those who only plan to take pictures can do that [down from the park] due to the conservation aspect,” said Edy. Borobudur temple management will also support the government’s plan to supply tour guides for in-depth temple tours.

ANTARA

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