Yogyakarta Tourism to Develop Even Faster

He said tourism department and tour guides organization would continue to improve the skills, capability, and the knowledge of the tour guides to make them more professional. To support Yogyakarta’s great potential tourism, Yogyakarta Mayor Herry Zudianto said at Beringharjo market recently that traditional markets would continue to be developed for that purpose.

Herry Zudianto said the local government would continue to improve the concept and management of traditional markets to back up the tourists who visit the place for pleasure. With several thousand-year-old temples of the ninth century by the dynasty of Syailendra, Yogyakarta also has beautiful natural panorama with green rice fields cover the suburban areas with a background of volcanic Mount Merapi.

The city, in which the people live in peace with typical Javanese hospitality, has numerous traditional markets where the exchange of goods and services take place as a result of buyers and sellers being in contact with one another. In the modern industrial system, however, the traditional markets in Yogyakarta will not be the places for transaction only but their concept and management will also be developed to support the tourism.

"With a better concept and management, the traditional markets will function not only as the place of transaction but also of recreational fun," Herry Zudianto said.

He said the concept and management of traditional markets should at least be the same as that of malls and other shopping centers in the country. Herry said the government has been committed to developing traditional markets into modern market level in a bid to improve the people’s economy.

Meanwhile, the Association of Traditional Market Managers (Asparindo) spokesman Suhendro said the condition of traditional markets in Yogyakarta was good enough.

"Based on our records, 80 percent of 8,854 traditional markets in Indonesia are not in very good condition but in Yogyakarta they are good enough," Suhenro said.

Therefore he expressed hope that the government would continue to develop the concept and management of traditional markets to support tourism. Besides, rural tourism in Yogyakarta is also predicted to have good prospects in 2011, Widya Budaya Foundation chairperson Widi Utaminingsih has early this month.

"The rural tourism potential will complement the diversity of tourism attractions in Yogyakarta special province," Widi said, adding that rural tourism Yogyakarta hould continue to be developed.

Therefore she said both the regional and provincial governments should make every effort to develop the rural tourism potential to attract as many foreign and domestic tourists as possible this year.

"Every rural tourism in Yogyakarta has its own typical atmosphere namely the culture and tradition, arts, as well as natural breathtaking scenery," Widi said.

She added that the Widya Budaya Foundation has a great concern in the field of tourism and cultural development study with a local potential basis.

According to her, each rural tourism has the potential of agriculture, animal husbandry, and art and cultural attractions that could be developed to attract tourists. She said there were at least 50 villages in Yogyakarta that could be developed into rural tourism with the cooperation from relevant parties.