Luhut's Version Of The Polemic Of Rp. 750 Thousand Borobudur Temple Entrance Ticket, Who Is The Real Manager?

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Panjaitan (center) while in the Borobudur Temple area (Photo: Doc. Ministry of Industry)

JAKARTA – The controversy over the amount of the entrance fee to Borobudur Temple for Rp. 750,000 which was first conveyed by the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan is still ongoing.

This then raises the pros and cons of the community considering that previously the average entrance ticket to the historic area was only set at IDR 50,000 to IDR 75,000 for local tourists. No doubt, this significant increase has attracted special attention from the public.

So, who exactly is the most authorized party in the affairs of Borobudur Temple?

Based on information compiled by the editors, the tourist destination which is full of historical value is managed by PT Taman Wisata Candi Borobudur, Prambanan and Ratu Boko (PT TWC) as one of the state companies under the Ministry of SOEs.

Established on July 15, 1980, PT TWC has the task of conducting business in the field of environmental exploitation of Borobudur Temple, Prambanan Temple and Ratu Boko Temple as tourist parks as well as optimizing high-quality and competitive resources to gain/pursue profits in order to increase the value of the company.

As a State-Owned Enterprise, currently all shares of PT TWC are owned by the Indonesian government.

Holding the spirit of transformation as Indonesia Heritage Management, PT TWC's main business fields are divided into four pillars, namely, Heritage Park, Cultural Park, Amenities and Attractions and supported by subsidiaries PT Bhumi Visatanda and PT Management CBT Nusantara.

Explanation of ticket price IDR 750.000

In the previous VOI report, PT PWC agreed with the stipulation of ticket prices of IDR 750,000 for local tourists and IDR 100 for foreign tourists. Meanwhile, the student ticket price (study tour) is IDR 5,000 per person.

The manager revealed that this policy was based on limiting tourist visits who would go up to the Borobudur Temple building by implementing a quota system, which was 1,200 people per day.

The reason is, this restriction is needed to maintain and preserve the Borobudur Temple building which is starting to be affected due to the large number of tourist visits in the period before the pandemic.

“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," said PT TWC President Director Edy Setijono in a press release quoted on Monday, June 6.