Jakarta. The government has announced its plans for a presidential regulation on a single body that would manage tourism in the world’s largest Buddhist temple, the Borobudur. 

“The president has instructed us to immediately work on a presidential regulation for a single destination management organization to manage Borobudur’s tourism,” Tourism Minister Sandiaga Uno told a broadcast press conference on Tuesday.

Indonesia has picked Borobudur, which lies in Magelang, as one of its super-priority destinations, namely places that Indonesia is trying to turn into the new Bali. According to Sandiaga, Borobudur will be ready as a super-priority destination by September 2024. 

The single authority management is expected to help promote the Borobudur temple to travelers abroad.

ASEAN is home to tens of millions of Buddhists, making Borobudur a highly potential tourist attraction for Southeast Asian travelers.

“ASEAN’s Buddhist population reaches 42 million people. This can be a spiritual tourism destination that can accommodate more than 20 million foreign tourists in the coming years,” Sandiaga said.

The National Statistics Agency (BPS) data showed that Indonesia attracted 2.4 million tourists from ASEAN throughout last year. This marked a huge jump from the 528,226 ASEAN tourists recorded in 2021.

Indonesia aims to attract 8.5 million foreign travelers in 2023. This target rises to 14 million foreigners next year.

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