INTENSIFYING BOROBUDUR PROMOTION TO HELP ACHIEVE NATIONAL TOURISM TARGET by Fardah

Jakarta, Sept 19, 2017 (Antara) - Various stakeholders engaged in the tourism industry should work harder to help the Tourism Ministry achieve its target of attracting some 20 million foreign tourists by 2019.

          State company PT Taman Wisata Candi (TWC-Temple Tourism Park) is among the parties committed to helping achieve the national tourism target.  
     The company managing the temples of Borobudur, Prambanan, and Ratu Boko, among other things, has been improving the quality of tourist attractions in Yogyakarta and Central Java Province and intensifying promotion activities in order to attract more foreign tourists to visit the temples.

          Last August, a TWC delegation had visited China to promote the tourist attractions in Central Java.

          They had sought assistance of the Indonesian Embassy in Beijing to help realize the target of attracting three million foreign tourists in 2017.

          "Perhaps, the Indonesian Embassy in Beijing could invite (Chinese) travel agents to bring along tourists to our temples," Retno Hardiasiwi, the technical and infrastructure director of PT TWC, informed Antara correspondent in Beijing, during the visit.

          "Without the help of others, it will be difficult for us to attract three million foreign tourists," she remarked.    
    General Manager of the Prambanan Temple Tourism Park Pujo Suwarno, a member of the delegation, said a total of 3,592 Chinese tourists had visited Prambanan Temple located in the border of Yogyakarta and Central Java during the January-July 2017 period.

          In 2016, a total of 207,952 foreign tourists, including 7,189 Chinese travelers, or only 3.46 percent of the total, had visited the Prambanan Temple.

          Harry Widianto, director of cultural heritage preservation and museums of the education ministry, who accompanied Hardiasiwi during the visit to China, noted that Indonesia and China had established cooperation to preserve the cultural heritage.

          Education and Culture Attaché Priyanto Wibowo remarked that Indonesian students in China frequently organized art and cultural events, among other activities, to promote the country's ancient temples.

          Recently, Indonesian students in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China, had successfully performed the Rara Jonggrang dance.

          Rara Jonggrang sheds light on the history of the temples of Sewu, Prambanan, and Ratu Boko and the statue of Goddess Durga that was discovered inside the Prambanan Temple.

          During the visit to China on Aug 27-30, the TWC delegation also conducted a comparative study by visiting the Great Wall, Temple of Heaven, Suzhou, Zhouzhuang, and Yuyuan Garden, among others.

          Furthermore, various events are organized regularly in and around the Borobudur, Prambanan, and Ratu Boko temples to attract visitors.

          On November 19, 2017, for instance, a 42-kilometer international marathon event called Bank Jateng Borobudur Marathon (BJBM) will be held in Central Java Province as part of the tourism promotion activities.

          The event will be jointly organized by the Borobudur Foundation and Central Java provincial administration with the support of Bank Jateng, Central Java, and Kompas Daily, Urip Shihabudin, head of the Central Java tourism office, stated in Magelang, Central Java, on Sept 17, 2017.

          "The tourism ministry has set a target of attracting 20 million foreign tourists every year, while the target of foreign tourist visits to Borobudur Temple is two million," he said.

          Some 10 thousand national and international runners are expected to participate in the BJBM this year.

          Borobudur Temple is known all over the world for its ancient and huge mountain-shape building, beautiful reliefs, statues, and stupas.

          The world's largest Buddhist temple has been popular worldwide particularly after the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization included the site of worship on its World Heritage list in 1991.

          Built during the reign of a king belonging to the Saliendra Dynasty between 750 and 842 AD, the temple is located in Mendut Village, Magelang District, Central Java Province, about 42 kilometers from the city of Yogyakarta, at the center of Java Island.

          Borobudur Temple, with a massive step pyramid structure made from giant stone blocks, is built on a hill and is surrounded by valleys and hills. The levels rise up representing the stages of enlightenment.

          In addition to its attractive, historic, and cultural building, Borobudur Temple has a beautiful natural panorama, as it is surrounded by green rice fields, and the four active volcanoes of Merapi, Sindoro, Merbabu, and Sumbing from which the stones for building the temple were sourced.

          Sunrise sighting is popular among tourists visiting Borobudur, which is best seen at dawn, when the air is fresh and full of sounds of chirping birds.

          A glimpse of Borobudur for the first time is often a deep emotional experience, and dawn is the best time as the mist begins to lift, the sun scales the surrounding volcanoes and terraced fields and highlights the stone reliefs and the myriad faces of Buddha.

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(T.F001/A/BESSR/F. Assegaf) 19-09-2017