InJourney Taps Thai Airways to Boost Air Connectivity with Borobudur Temple as Pilgrim Tourism Destination
Translator
Najla Nur Fauziyah
Editor
Laila Afifa
Selasa, 20 Agustus 2024 22:42 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Borobudur Temple management partnered with Thai airline, Thai Airways, to attract more visitors from the country. Indonesia’s state-owned tourism company PT Aviasi Pariwisata Indonesia or InJourney inked an MoU with the Thailand-based airline to boost air connectivity.
The MoU signing was conducted by InJourney’s Marketing and Tourism Program Director, Maya Watono, and Director of Sales of Thai Airways, Wit Kitchathorn.
“The cooperation between InJourney and Thai Airways is intended to improve air connectivity between Thailand and Indonesia, especially to Borobudur Temple,” Maya said on Tuesday, August 20, 2024.
Pilgrim tourism
Borobudur Temple has been dubbed a pilgrim tourism destination, in line with InJourney’s commitment to establish an inclusive destination for Buddhist pilgrimage.
“We acknowledge that there is a high interest for spiritual pilgrims in Borobudur Temple, therefore, we are developing the air connectivity by collaborating with Thai Airways,” Maya added.
The world is home to over 530 million Buddhists, with over 92 percent, or 490 million residing in Asia. In Southeast Asia, there are approximately 120 million Buddhists, where Thailand houses over 53 percent or 64 million of the pilgrims.
“The figure is highly potential to establish an air connectivity from Thailand to Borobudur Temple,” Maya said.
Borobudur Temple visits
The overall visit to Borobudur Temple during peak season is around 1.4 million, with 10 percent or around 140,000 attributed to foreign tourists. Connecting Thailand to the temple through the Yogyakarta International Airport (YIA) is expected to increase foreign visitors five-fold.
Since last year, familiarization trips have been regularly carried out for inbound tour operators, especially from Thailand and Asian Buddhist-majority countries. The trips are intended to boost spiritual and culture-based tourists to encourage the acceleration of Borobudur Temple area’s growth.
M. SYAIFULLAH
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