Minister Of SOEs Regarding IDR 750,000 Borobudur Entrance Ticket: Foreign Tourists Are Nothing To Be Appreciated

Illustration (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Erick Thohir admitted that he understood the plan to increase the entrance fee for Borobudur Temple to Rp. 750,000 due to concerns about cultural heritage that must be protected.

However, on the other hand he is also aware that Borobudur Temple plays an important role in Indonesian tourism.

"We also understand that this is something that is very useful in maintaining our culture, our tourism," he said in a Working Meeting with Commission VI DPR, Selesa, May 7.

According to Erick, a policy must be synchronized. Erick explained that SOEs sometimes accept policies that were previously unknown.

"Earlier it was said that we as a corporate ministry, we are not the ministry that makes policies. We have to synchronize because sometimes the policies carried out are of course by other ministries, sometimes we don't even know," he said.

Even so, Erick admitted that there was no problem if high tariffs were imposed on foreign tourists.

However, for tariffs for local tourists, according to him, it must also be ensured that the balance of people's purchasing factors in post-COVID-19 conditions must also be ensured.

"Yes, it depends (ideally the tariff). If we look at an example if we see international tourists, yes, it's okay to be expensive. Yesterday for students, Rp. 5,000, yesterday, there was no increase, "he explained.

Previously, it was reported that the government planned to impose a tariff to climb the Borobudur Temple structure for domestic tourists of IDR 750,000.

It aims to limit the number of visitors so that the condition of the temple as a cultural heritage remains sustainable.

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan emphasized that the plan to increase the ticket price for the Borobudur Temple stupa area of IDR 750,000 is not final and will be decided by President Joko Widodo next week.

"I heard a lot of public input today related to the discourse of increasing tariffs for local tourists. Therefore, later I will ask the relevant parties to immediately review again so that the tariff can be lowered. I thank all of you for your great attention to the cultural heritage of our pride," Luhut told reporters on Monday, June 6.

However, Luhut ensured that the plan to increase the tariff for foreign tourists to 100 US dollars would not change. Likewise, the tariff for students remains according to the plan previously submitted, which is Rp. 5,000.00.

Meanwhile, to just enter the Borobudur Temple area, the fee is still IDR 50,000.