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Tourist sites, airlines see busy business
School holidays put the tourism business in full swing in Central Java and Yogyakarta, with holidaygoers flocking to popular tourist spots, while in Riau, the vacation has triggered an airfare war among airlines overwhelmed with a surge of passengers
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chool holidays put the tourism business in full swing in Central Java and Yogyakarta, with holidaygoers flocking to popular tourist spots, while in Riau, the vacation has triggered an airfare war among airlines overwhelmed with a surge of passengers.
In Central Java capital Semarang, the choices range from visiting the Old Town area, which hosts historical buildings from the Dutch period and the province’s oldest church, Gereja Blenduk, and the Sam Poo Kong Temple.
The city also boasts the Grand Mosque with its 99-meter high Al-Husna minaret and Metakaruna Temple in Watugong area, located on a hill’s slope, allowing visitors to view the city’s scene from above.
The visitors can also go on a culinary adventure to get a real taste of Semarang.
In nearby Yogyakarta, the Borobudur Temple remains a favorite spot, which has seen between 40,000 and 50,000 visitors a day, far above the normal visitors who range only between 2,000 and 4,000 daily.
“I have come with my husband and two children from Malang [East Java] to holiday in Yogyakarta and then Semarang. We traveled by car, being the cheaper option,” said Pujiati.
For her family, school holidays are a perfect time to visit relatives in the two cities.
“We are using the holidays to visit relatives since we can’t go to our hometown during the Idul Fitri holiday since we’re busy in our shop. But during school holidays, we can close our business for a week.”
Another visitor, Sumari, came from Lumajang in East Java to the Borobudur Temple.
“I promised my children to take them to Yogyakarta and then to Borobudur if their [school] reports were good,” she said.
Central Java Governor Bibit Waluyo told the Tourism and Culture Office to target local tourists coming to the province, considering there are about 4 million Central Java locals currently residing in Jakarta.
“During the holiday, they should be offered to visit tourist sites in Central Java,” the governor said.
Last year, the tourism office recorded 21 million local tourists visited the province. The number was high compared to 308,519 foreign tourists.
In Riau province, the number of passengers taking Pekanbaru-Jakarta flights`has increased by 30 percent, prompting airlines to offer competitive prices.
Pekanbaru resident Bagus Kurnia said he found it hard to find airline tickets with regular fares.
Most have set airfares for a Jakarta flight at Rp 1.2 million, compared to Rp 400,000 to Rp 600,000 per person during low season.
“The fares have jumped by 100 percent and there’s still no guarantee that I can get a seat since I have to wait for cancellations,” Bagus told The Jakarta Post.
“Travel agents and airlines claimed all tickets were sold out until the end of June. I had no other option but to cancel my trip.”
Similar complaints were made by Budiman, who was planning to take his two children to his hometown in Bandung, West Java.
But after waiting for several days from last weekend he said he could not get tickets.
“I have taken my children to the airport, just in case there were passengers who canceled at the last minute. But nothing,” he said. “Airlines should have anticipated this situation by increasing the number of flights since this happens every year.”
Sultan Syarif Kasim Airport management recorded that since last weekend, the number of arriving and departing passengers had increased from around 5,000 daily to 6,400 passengers recently.
“The increase is mostly due to an increase of passengers on the Pekanbaru-Jakarta route. All flights are full, especially those leaving in the morning,” said the airport’s duty manager Ibnu Hasan.
The airport, he said, served 54 flights daily, 38 of which departed from and arrived at Jakarta.
He said that as the school holidays entered the second day, no airlines had increased their number of flights.
Sriwijaya Air’s district manager in Pekanbaru, Wendi Yolanda Pasaribu, said tickets to Jakarta were on high demand with the school holiday and the high airfares would stay for the next two weeks.
“The hike happens every peak season, it’s natural,” she said.
Batavia Air district manager in Pekanbaru, Zulkifli, confessed it could not meet the high demand for tickets due to limited flights. The airline serves the Pekanbaru-Jakarta route three times a day.
“With the increased demand, we plan to request for additional flights from Pekanbaru. We hope the company’s management in Jakarta approves this so we can serve more passengers wanting to leave to Jakarta next week,” he said.
