The Borobudur Temple management is collaborating with Thai airline Thai Airways to attract more tourists from Thailand.
It is common knowledge that Borobudur serves as a place of worship for Buddhists, while Buddhism is the predominant religion among the Thai population.
On Monday, August 19, 2024, the Tourism and Support SOE Holding, PT Aviasi Pariwisata Indonesia or InJourney, established a partnership with Thai airline Thai Airways International Public Company Limited (Thai Airways). A Memorandum of Understanding was signed to develop air connectivity between Thailand and Indonesia, especially the Borobudur Temple tourism destination.
“Borobudur Temple was launched as a spiritual pilgrim tourism destination in line with InJourney’s commitment to building an inclusive destination as a place of worship for Buddhists. We understand that the interest of tourists with special interests, such as spiritual pilgrims at Borobudur Temple, is very high; for that, we develop connectivity from the air side in collaboration with Thai Airways,” said InJourney Marketing and Tourism Program Director Maya Watono to OkeZone.
With 120 million Buddhists in Southeast Asia and Thailand alone accounting for 64 million or 53% of the total, the potential for attracting Thai tourists to Borobudur Temple is immense.
This collaboration not only attracts more tourists to Borobudur but also indicates a shift in diversifying foreign tourist destinations to Indonesia, which may have previously focused solely on Bali. This opens up new and exciting opportunities for the tourism industry in Indonesia.
Previously, the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy encouraged Flores as a spiritual tourism centre for Catholics.
Yogyakarta Airport is the main place for receiving foreign tourists to Borobudur
Meanwhile, Yogyakarta International Airport (YIA) is the main air gate for tourists entering Yogyakarta and its surroundings, including Borobudur Temple.
Until April 2024, foreign tourist arrivals from YIA reached 177,516 from 107 countries, with a portion of 57% direct and 43% indirect. The most extensive connectivity comes from Singapore (39%), Malaysia (35%), and Thailand (5%).
President Director of InJourney Airports Faik Fahmi also hopes that the development of air connectivity cooperation between InJourney and Thai Airways will support the development of Borobudur as a pilgrim spiritual tourism destination.
With the introduction of flights from Thailand to Yogyakarta via YIA, there is an anticipation of a significant increase in the number of tourists visiting Yogyakarta and its surroundings. This growth is a promising sign for the future of tourism in the region.
