After Meeting With Coordinating Minister Luhut, PT TWC Supports Setting Up Quota To Borobudur Temple, Ticket Price Rp. 750 Thousand

Central Java - PT Taman Wisata Candi Borobudur, Prambanan, and Ratu Boko (TWC) supports the opening of boarding access to Borobudur Temple by setting a visit quota for tourists.

"The results of the inter-ministerial/institutional coordination meeting led by the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment require restrictions on tourist visits who will ride the Borobudur Temple building by implementing a quota system," explained PT TWC President Director Edy Setijono in a press release in Magelang, Antara, Monday, June 6th.

He said a quota would be set for tourists who could go up to the Borobudur Temple building as many as 1,200 people per day. This amount is equivalent to 10-15 percent of the average daily number of tourists to Borobudur Temple before the pandemic.

This was decided to maintain and preserve the Borobudur Temple building which was starting to be affected due to the large number of tourist visits in the pre-pandemic period.

"So the basis is the interest of conservation. The quota policy is set with a maximum number of 1,200 people per day who can ride the Borobudur Temple building," he said.

Based on the quota policy, he said, there will be a special price rule, for domestic tourists of Rp. 750,000, foreign tourists of 100 US dollars, and for students (school study tour groups / non-individual) it is Rp. 5,000.

"This special ticket policy is only for tourists who wish to go up the Borobudur Temple building. The quota policy with this special ticket will be implemented through an online reservation system," he said.

In addition to using special footwear, tourists who buy special tickets to go up to the Borobudur Temple building will be accompanied by a specially prepared tour guide who has a certificate of competence from the Ministry of Education and Culture and a hospitality certificate from the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy.

PT TWC supports the quota policy with a special ticket, as a policy that prioritizes the conservation aspect. Based on the results of monitoring from the Borobudur Conservation Center regarding the preservation of Borobudur Temple, it has been found that parts with stone wear conditions and damage to some parts of the reliefs have been found.

It is also feared that the burden of excessive visitors will have an impact on the preservation of Borobudur Temple, including the decrease in the contours of the Borobudur Temple land.

"As stated by Mr. Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan as Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, the regulation of a quota of 1,200 tourists per day is a special quota for tourists who ride the Borobudur Temple building," he said.

As for regular visits, during this pandemic the tourist quota will follow the provisions of the COVID-19 task force.

"In the future, we hope that the pandemic will end soon so that tourists can come to the Borobudur Temple Tourism Park more freely," he said.

According to him, regular tourists can have activities in the Borobudur Temple Tourism Park while enjoying the beauty and splendor of the Borobudur Temple to the temple courtyard, as is being done now.

"We still accommodate regular tourists who will visit Borobudur Temple Tourism Park with regular entrance ticket prices, namely for adult/general domestic tourist tickets of Rp. 50,000, domestic tourist tickets for children/students Rp. 25,000, international tourist tickets for adults/general 25. US dollars, and child/student foreign tourist tickets of 15 US dollars.

The ticket allows tourists to tour the Borobudur Temple Tourism Park to the limits of the Borobudur Temple courtyard/yard, but are not allowed to go up to the Borobudur Temple building.

"On the decision of the coordination meeting, PT TWC is preparing a technical standard operating procedure (SOP) for its implementation and will coordinate with the Borobudur Conservation Center (BKB). This SOP is expected to improve the quality of service to tourists. The decision will be implemented after the technical SOP is ready, " he said.