Govt Takes Conservant Approach to Borobudur Temple: Sandiaga Uno

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno stated that the government is taking a conservant approach rather than a commercial one in determining the entry fee of Borobudur Temple.

“This is clearly not a commercial approach, but a conservant approach to ensure that Borobudur as a tourist destination is a [historic] site that must be really preserved,” said Sandiaga in a virtual press conference on Monday, June 6.

According to him, state-owned tourism firm PT Taman Wisata Candi (TWC) is still accommodating regular tourists with a fixed ticket price of Rp50,000 and foreign tourists at US$100.

“With the special ticket price set at Rp750,000, we hope it will bring a better quality of tourists,” Sandiaga added.

Limiting the number of visitors, he argued, is inevitable given the limited carrying capacity of the UNESCO World Heritage site. “Based on experts’ calculation, [the temple] can only accommodate 1,200 visitors per day.”

The figure is equal to 10-15 percent of the average daily number of tourists before the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, for regular visits, the tourist quota during this lingering pandemic will follow the provision of the COVID-19 task force.

Sandiaga also said the government had mulled over the social and economic impact on the locals and ensured the efforts were in line with community-based quality tourism, which is a concept that focuses on recovery.

“Starting from the economic recovery of the locals and sustainable tourism,” Sandiaga Uno emphasized.

HENDARTYO HANGGI

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