Beach Managers in Bantul Complain of Low Turnout, Blame High Retribution Fees

Managers of Depok Beach and Gua Cemara Beach consider visitor numbers during the 2026 Eid holiday to be lower than last year. The beach managers blame the cause on the expensive retribution fees.

The administrator of Gua Cemara Beach Tourism Village, Timan, said that visitors to the beach usually come to enjoy seafood dishes. However, visits to Gua Cemara Beach are not as busy as during the 2025 Eid holiday.

“Judging from the parking areas that are not crowded with vehicles, it can be said that this year’s Eid holiday is not as busy as last year’s Eid holiday,” Timan told reporters on Sunday (22/3/2026).

Timan assesses the cause as the retribution fee of Rp15,000 per person. In addition, people would surely think twice about eating seafood dishes if they have to pay that fee.

“It’s likely because of the Rp15,000 per person fee, especially since there are tourists who come to Bantul just to eat seafood, and if they have to pay Rp15,000 per person, they would think twice,” he said.

Besides the retribution fee, Timan assesses that people’s purchasing power is currently declining. All of this is due to the uncertain economic conditions amid rampant war issues.

“The cause of the low visitors could also be because people’s purchasing power is indeed down. So money is only spent on daily needs and only the most important things,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Mina Bahari 45 Tourism Cooperative at Depok Beach, Bantul, Sutarlan, admits that the number of tourist visits to Depok Beach is not very busy. In fact, Sutarlan says that the parking areas in the Depok Beach area are quite empty.

“Actually, since the 2024 and 2025 Eid holidays, there has been a decline in the number of tourist visits. Now, for the 2026 Eid holiday, I predict it will drop again compared to 2025,” said Sutarlan.

On the other hand, most visitors to Depok Beach only want to savour seafood dishes. This is because Depok Beach is famous for its many seafood dining spots.

“Like this, for example, a group of six people wants to eat seafood at Depok Beach and each person has to pay a retribution fee of Rp15,000. Well, Rp15,000 times six is already Rp90,000, and that Rp90,000 could buy three portions of seafood cuisine,” he said.