BOROBUDUR TEMPLE BEING PROMOTED HEAVILY TO LURE MORE FOREIGN TOURISTS By Fardah

    Jakarta, March 7, 2015 (Antara) - The image of the huge mountain temple of Borobudur has been popular worldwide particularly after UNESCO included the world's largest Buddhist temple in its World Heritage list in 1991.

         The temple was built during the reign of a king belonging to the Saliendra dynasty between AD 750 and 842 and is located about 42 kilometers from the city of Yogyakarta, at the center of the Java Island.

         UNESCO and the Indonesian government had undertaken a complete renovation of the monument as part of a massive project from 1975 to 1983.

         Borobudur is surrounded by beautiful rice fields, and four active volcanoes: Merapi, Sindoro, Merbabu and Sumbing, from which the building stones of the temple were produced.

         Despite the attractive combination of being an ancient cultural monument and a beautiful natural panorama, the number of foreign tourists visiting Borobudur is quite few.

         Some 211,004 foreign tourists visited the Borobudur Temple in 2014. The Netherlands sent the largest number of tourists at 42,096, followed by Japan at 38,543, Malaysia sending 26,531, and France at 25,608.

         The Borobudur Temple Tourism Park (TWCB) management has been promoting the world's largest Buddhist temple overseas to lure foreign tourists.

         "We still rely on overseas promotional activities to attract foreign tourists," Aryono Hendro Malyanto, from the TWCB said recently.

         The promotional activities have been carried out with the cooperation of the Indonesian embassies and the tourism ministry.

         In February, a promotional event was held in India, under which an International Ramayana Festival was hosted by Indonesia in New Delhi.

         "In March, we will hold promotional activities in the Netherlands and Germany," he noted.

         "So far, Dutch tourists remain the dominant figures among European visitors coming to see the Borobudur Temple," Aryono Malyanto stated.        
    The Dutch tourists typically arrived on cruise ships in July and shortly thereafter.

         During 2014, the temple also drew 19,876 German, 9,086 British, 7,168 Belgian, 6,118 Italian, and 3,631 Canadian visitors.

         Visitors from the Asia-Pacific region included 8,239 Chinese, 4,369 Indians, 2,746 Koreans, and 1,513 Filipinos.  
    "The number of Australian tourists visiting Borobudur Temple touched 7,153 people last year, or an average of 596 per month. In January 2015, some 515 Australian tourists visited the temple," he noted.

         This year, at least 282,000 foreign tourists are expected to visit Borobudur. In 2013, Borobudur received a total of 3,362,061 tourists, consisting of 3,145,846 domestic tourists and 216,215 foreigners.

         Elephant rides are a favorite among both domestic and foreign tourists visiting the Borobudur Temple.

         Five elephants are always ready to entertain the tourists interested in riding and touring the Borobudur Temple at the same time or even taking a round of the Lumbini Park, Malyanto noted.

         Some elephant tourism packages are offered to tourists at a fee of up to Rp1.5 million per person.

         The tourists are also taken for a ride through the green rice fields in Tanjung Sari Village and later through Nglipoh Village, which is known for its earthenware craft industry.
    The elephants also carry the tourists to the Kali Tengah traditional market and the Nampan Village, where the scenery is dominated by rice fields.

         "Most foreign tourists are interested in opting for the ride as it is quite costly," he noted.

         Some 10 to 100 tourists daily opt for the elephant ride around Borobudur Temple.    
    In June 2011, famous Hollywood actor Richard Gere visited the Borobudur and Prambanan temples to help promote Indonesian tourism internationally.

         "Gere has a lot of fans in Asia, the United States and Europe, so his visit will hopefully help promote the Borobudur and Prambanan temples worldwide," the then Tourism and Culture Ministry`s Director General of Marketing, Sapta Nirwandar, had said a few years ago.

         A practicing Buddhist, Gere was also a guest of honor at the Masterpiece of Borobudur Ballet, which was performed on an open stage in Aksobya, eastern Borobudur.

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

         It was built in three tiers: a pyramidal base with five concentric square terraces, the trunk of a cone with three circular platforms and, at the top, a monumental stupa.

         On the lower rectangular levels, stone carved panels depict the story of the Buddhist Sutras, through 1,460 scenes intricately carved into the stone.

         The walls and balustrades are decorated with fine low reliefs, covering a total surface area of 2,500 square meters. Around the circular platforms are 72 openwork stupas, each containing a statue of the Buddha.

         The list of the Seven Wonders of the World has changed many times over the years, and Borobudur has often been included in that list.

         As the number of tourists to Indonesia exceeded all expectations in 2014, the government has set a higher target this year, and hopes to boost the foreign tourist numbers from 10 million to 12 million.

         Tourism Minister Arief Yahya has also expressed optimism about the new target being achievable through intense promotional activities. ***1***

(f001/INE/o001)