The government plans to develop more tourism villages around ninth-century Borobudur Temple in Yogyakarta to draw more visitors and encourage them to stay longer, an official said on Wednesday.“In 2010 we will develop five more tourism villages in the vicinity of Borobudur Temple. We hope they will attract more tourists, as well as help the local people become involved in the tourism industry,” said Firmansyah Rahim, the director general of the destination development at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Last year, the ministry developed five tourism villages in the Borobudur area, with each receiving financial aid ranging from Rp 100 million to Rp 150 million ($10,800 to $16,200) to renovate tourist facilities such as guesthouses as well as handicraft and culinary centers.
Tourism villages rely on proximity to an attraction, such as Borobudur Temple, to pull in revenue from visitors.
Winarno Sudjas, secretary of the destinations development division, said the government would train residents of the tourism villages to be good hosts. “We will also bring instructors from art academies to teach the locals about handicrafts and culinary crafts,” he said.
Winarno said the program had been in operation for two years. In 2008, 50 villages participated nationwide, each receiving Rp 50 million. In 2009, the number of villages receiving the funds rose to 100. In 2010, the ministry expects to develop 200 such villages throughout Indonesia.
Toni Tack, an art historian and expert in the archeology of Southeast Asia said that to preserve Borobudur, the operator should consider raising the entrance fee to the temple. “For domestic tourists, the ticket only costs Rp 15,000. That’s like showing no respect to this historical monument,” she said.
Purnomo Siswoprasetjo, the president director of PT Taman Wisata Candi, which manages the Borobudur, Prambanan, and Ratu Boko temples, said that compared to some other countries, Indonesia set a low price for entrance tickets to national heritage sites. “If people want to go to Angkor Wat in Cambodia they have to pay up to $40, while at Borobudur foreign tourists only have to pay $11 and domestic tourists only Rp 15,000,” he said.
Purnomo said that Borobudur attracted nearly 2.5 million local tourists and more than 200,000 foreign tourists during 2009.
“I really hope that with more tourism villages the number [of tourists] will increase and they will stay longer, because most [now] stay really briefly,” Purnomo said.
Source: http://thejakartaglobe.com
