T

he eruption of Mount Merapi that borders Yogyakarta and Central Java provinces last year was a tough blow to Yogyakarta tourism, almost completely paralyzing tourism activities as the authorities were forced to close down the airport for several weeks over safety concerns.

Being the province’s main gate for tourist arrivals, the closure of the airport was blamed for the drastic drop in tourists visiting the region. Media reports considered to be too exaggerated was also partly to blame, making people afraid to visit Yogyakarta.

“Thank God it is over now. We are currently in the recovery period. We have done a lot of things to restore public trust so people will not be afraid to come to Yogya again,” provincial Tourism Agency head Tazbir said recently.

He said among the recovery efforts involving all stakeholders, were road shows to various major cities across the country to meet tourism industry players and potential tourists such as school teachers and students.

“What we do is provide them with the true information regarding the condition here and convincing them that Yogya is safe to visit and is as comfortable as previously,” Tazbir said.

Frequent flows of cold lava and debris from the slopes of Mount Merapi during the rainy season, he added, do not mean that Yogyakarta was unsafe. Precautionary measures have been taken by both the provincial and the respective regency/municipal administrations to deal with the situation.

The fact that volcanic debris often cuts off the main road connecting Yogyakarta and Borobudur Temple in Magelang, Central Java, similarly, does not mean that the famous world heritage site could not be reached from Yogyakarta.

“We just have to travel a little bit longer to reach it,” he said.

Besides, he added, visiting Yogyakarta is not just about visiting Borobudur Temple, Prambanan Temple, Yogyakarta Palace and the legendary Jl. Malioboro. “We have a lot more to enjoy here, ranging from cultural events to adventure sports,” Tazbir said.

Mt. Merapi, for example, has become much more attractive for both domestic and foreign tourists nowadays as they want to witness the evidence of the devastation caused by the eruptions that claimed over 300 lives and completely destroyed dozens of villages on its slopes.

This is especially because the 2010 eruptions were considered rare and unique in terms of character and extraordinary in terms of magnitude. The eruptions are believed to be the biggest ever in the history of the world’s most active volcano within the last century.

Various volcano-related tour packages are on offer including Merapi lava tour and Merapi sunrise trekking. The local administrations, according to Tazbir, have also been planning to build a memorial park in Merapi area to make it more attractive to visit.

In the near future, he added, the administrations are to build an observation tower in Petung, Sleman regency, which will enable visitors to observe Mt. Merapi from a good angle. The site is also designed to come with other supporting facilities including food outlets and spacious parking areas.

“This is how we are responding to the growing trend of developing Merapi as a new tourist site while at the same time helping local residents generate income,” Tazbir said.

Other recovery efforts, according to Tazbir, include organizing more events and meetings in Yogyakarta and inviting international media and travel agencies to the province so they can see for themselves the condition here to be further inform their respective clients.

“We are expecting to host some 100 international buyers from about 10 different countries during our 2nd Yogya Travel Mart to be held here from May 6 to 8, 2011,” said Tazbir adding that so far some 60 journalists from 10 different countries have been invited to Yogyakarta.

The results, according to Tazbir, have been quite positive so far. Indications of this include the rising hotel occupancy rate and the number of tourist visits to the province for the last few months which, he said, was approaching the normal figures.

With some 12,000 rooms available in its star- and non-star-rated hotels presently, Yogyakarta usually sees some 170,000 foreign tourist visits annually and about 1.6 million domestic tourists. “I am optimistic tourism will fully recover soon,” said Tazbir.

He said the provincial administration and the private sector would maintain synergy to keep restoring and improving the image of Yogyakarta as one of the country’s major tourist destinations.

Similar optimism was expressed by Daddy Renown Eryngo, owner and manager of Rube Graham hotel in Yogyakarta. “We have been enjoying an increase in the occupancy rate,” said Daddy who is also chairman of the Yogyakarta Tourism Promotion Agency.

Quoting a recent meeting with tourism industry players in the province, Daddy said that star-rated hotels in Yogyakarta had been enjoying an average occupancy rate of between 70 percent and 80 percent. The normal occupancy rate is around 90 percent.

Non-star-rated hotel, similarly, have been enjoying an average occupancy rate of between 30 percent and 40 percent while the normal rate was between 50 percent and 60 percent.

“I think we just need to improve promotional activities and supporting facilities. We really hope that the government will continue to help us with this,” he said.