Tourists flock to Yogya for holidays
With the school holidays in full swing, tourists have flocked to Yogyakarta, overwhelming railway companies and airlines that provide transportation to the popular destination.
In the heart of the city, the shopping district of Malioboro and the Yogyakarta Palace have been packed with visitors. Parangtritis Beach and Kaliurang Park have also been inundated with holiday-makers.
Tourists are also taking advantage of the Yogyakarta Art Festival (FKY), which is being held near Fort Vredeburg. The festival, which exhibits local handicrafts and presents traditional performing arts, ends in late August.
Junior high school student Raras Widiyaningrum from Cileungsi in Bogor, West Java, was among the festival’s visitors.
She said she felt lucky to be visiting the city as it hosts the event.
“I am able to buy various handicraft pieces such as silver crafts, wooden products and batik. I don’t have to go far to find souvenirs to take back home, since there are many trinkets to buy in this one place,” she said Wednesday.
The student was spending two days in Yogyakarta, visiting mostly tourist sites — such as Borobudur Temple — with her school friends.
Railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia has also enjoyed brisk business, with tickets for Argo Lawu and Argo Dwipangga executive trains, which previously sold at Rp 180,000 each, costing Rp 210,000.
Railway’s spokesman in Yogyakarta, Mochtadi, said Wednesday the company has had to put on additional train cars — increasing the regular eight cars to 10.
He said the number of passengers began to increase as of Saturday.
Usually, the number of train passengers to Yogyakarta is between 2,600 and 3,000 per day, but this holiday season the number has jumped to more than 5,000 passengers daily.
The increase in tourists flying to Yogyakarta has prompted airlines to impose higher fares during the holidays.
Outside of the holiday period (excluding weekends), airfares from Jakarta to Yogyakarta are usually between Rp 199,000 and Rp 250,000.
“There are virtually no cheap tickets over the holiday season,” said Wisnu, a ticketing staff member at Adi Sucipto airport in Yogyakarta.
He said the cheapest ticket during the holiday season is around Rp 390,000. [Source]