Yogyakarta Prepares New Rules For Malioboro Tourism Area: Maximum Two Hours Tourists, Three Hours Bus

Malioboro tourist area, Yogyakarta. (Doc. Between)

YOGYAKARTA - Yogyakarta continues to improve to prepare to welcome back tourists, even though currently it is still implementing Level 4 Community Activity Restrictions (PPKM).

Preparations are mainly carried out in the tourist area of Malioboro, by preparing a number of rules that tourists will have to obey.

"One of them is the regulation on the maximum time tourists can be in Malioboro," said the Head of the Technical Implementation Unit (UPT) for the Ekwanto Cultural Heritage Area in Yogyakarta, Wednesday, August 11, as reported by Antara.

According to Ekwanto, visitors or tourists have a maximum of two hours in the Malioboro area. As for buses carrying groups of up to three hours in the parking area.

Buses that take groups of tourists get longer time with various considerations, including if there is a bus queue at the parking location or Malioboro is still quite crowded.

"Passengers on the bus are not allowed to get off as an effort to anticipate potential crowds. Hence, the time for the bus is longer," he explained.

He further explained that visitors who enter the Malioboro area will be automatically registered. Later, they will get a short message via WhatsApp to remind them if their visiting time is almost up.

"When the visiting time is 15 or 10 minutes remaining, visitors will receive a short message reminding them to leave Malioboro immediately because visiting time is almost up," explained Ekwanto.

"If visitors are still desperate to be in Malioboro, then the short message will continue to be sent," he continued.

As for tourism buses, continued Ekwanto, there was a discourse for screening or inspection by Transportation Service officers at the Giwangan Terminal.

The inspection is carried out to ensure that tourists have undergone vaccination, as evidenced by a vaccine card and that all passengers adhere to strict health protocols.

"If it passes the inspection, then the new tourism bus will be allowed to enter the city of Yogyakarta," he said.

According to Ekwanto, the policy related to the new rules for traveling in Malioboro is projected to be a long-term regulation, to ensure that all visitors, tourists, officers and economic actors in the Malioboro area are safe.

As for tourists who do not come in groups, inspections will be carried out at the entrances of Malioboro. Checks to ensure visitors have brought a vaccine card.

"There are around 40 security personnel from Malioboro, Jogoboro, who will be deployed to conduct inspections on visitors. Later, there will be assistance from Satpol PP and Dishub," he explained.

He added that currently economic activity in Malioboro has not fully recovered. “Only about 40 percent of shop owners and 50 percent of street vendors have reopened. Most of them are still waiting for developments because there are still very few visitors," he concluded.

For information, today the Yogyakarta City Government has declared the Malioboro area and Yogyakarta Tugu Station as mandatory areas for vaccines and masks.