Borobudur: the world’s largest Buddhist temple will rise in price

(CNN) — Visiting the world’s largest Buddhist temple can get expensive.

Borobudur, one of Indonesia’s most popular attractions, will soon be subject to price hikes by state authorities in an attempt to “preserve the country’s historical and cultural richness.”

“We have agreed to limit the tourism quota to 1,200 people per day at a cost of $100 for foreign tourists and Rs 750,000 ($71) for domestic tourists,” Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Panjaitan said on his official Instagram. . page on Saturday, June 4th. Tourists entering the site currently pay a flat fee of $25 per person.

According to the new rules, foreigners will have to be accompanied by a local guide at all times while visiting Borobudur. It was also planned to introduce electric buses for tourists to travel around the temple and the surrounding area.

“We are doing this to create new jobs while strengthening the sense of belonging to this region so that a sense of responsibility for historical sites can continue to flourish in the younger generations to come,” Luhut said.

“We accept these [steps] solely for the sake of preserving the rich history and culture of the archipelago.”

Sunrise over the ancient temple of Borobudur in the central Indonesian province of Java.

GO CHAI HIN/AFP/AFP/Getty Images

Located near the city of Yogyakarta in the Central Java province of Indonesia, Borobudur is believed to have been built in the 9th century and survived after several restorations. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982 and attracted tens of thousands of visitors daily before the pandemic hit.

With nine stacked platforms topped by a majestic central dome flanked by seated Buddha statues, the temple is a prime example of Javanese Buddhist architecture.

Borobudur is often compared to another sprawling religious site, Angkor Wat. The Cambodian temple complex has a different style and history, but also requires all foreigners to be accompanied by government-licensed guides, and periodically raises ticket prices for non-Cambodians.

Borobudur price hike proposed by Indonesian government welcomed fast reaction online.

Stuart McDonald, co-founder of Travelfish, a travel website about Southeast Asia, stressed that foreign travelers are only a “tiny minority” of visitors to Borobudur. “The meaning of this price increase came out of the blue and seems somewhat ill-conceived,” McDonald said.

“Borobudur is a key tourist attraction in Indonesia and is often referred to as a landmark in Java… therefore, the importance of foreign tourists to the financial viability of Borobudur should be carefully overestimated.

“The most important question may be [whether] foreign travelers will shorten their time in Yogyakarta or exclude the city entirely from their travel plans,” he continued. I would carefully say yes. The ripple effect can be significant.”