Fantastic entrance fee<\/p>\n
During my last visit to Yogyakarta with guests from Europe, we
\nwent on a tour of the lesser known temples at Prambanan. As
\nusual, such a visit is a real treat for art lovers worldwide who
\nflock to Indonesia to admire these wonders of civilization.
\nNevertheless, one detail made the visit somewhat bitter. Both in
\nPrambanan and in Borobudur, we were confronted with the fact that
\nadmission fees for foreigners had promptly been raised
\nby 400 percent, which, I imagine, must put lots of tour operators
\nin an awkward position toward their clients.<\/p>\n
Whereas one can fully agree with charging a high fee for
\nvisiting world famous monuments (including the hundreds of
\nillegal hawkers who manage to make the visit a real ordeal), the
\nmanner and timing of the fee hikes are unfortunate. Another
\ndetail choked me: the new tickets mention the price in U.S.
\ndollars, which clearly is illegal in Indonesia. Confronted with
\nmy question of which exchange rate they wished to apply, the
\nattendants were at a complete loss. In the end, a price in rupiah
\nwas \"negotiated\".<\/p>\n
Last but not least, I discovered that the new rate of US$5 is
\nalso being applied at Ratu Boko, a delightful but rather unknown
\nmonument. I checked the guest book and saw that since Aug. 1,
\nan average of six foreign tourists visited this site each day.
\nNo doubt the introduction of the exceedingly high entrance fee
\nplayed a role in the decline of visitors to the site.<\/p>\n
It is sad that the management of these sites do not encourage
\nvisits to these lesser known temples. It would, for instance, be
\nhighly recommendable to include a visit to Ratu Boko and\/or other
\nsites with the Prambanan ticket, so that people would be aware of
\nits existence and go there (a huge concrete infrastructure is
\nalready in place). This would greatly benefit a more balanced
\ntourism in the area and allow tourists to visit wonderfully quiet
\nsites in a beautiful countryside.<\/p>\n
PETER CLAES<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/fantastic-entrance-fee-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }