Will Myanmar’s travellers head to Yogyakarta?

14 Feb 2015  2041 | World Travel News

YOGYAKARTA  Direct flights between Yogyakarta and Myanmar could start, this year, mainly to promote cultural and religious related tourism.
The Jakarta Globe media quoted Indonesian ambassador to Myanmar, Ito Sumardi, as saying the Indonesian government discussed details with the country’s flag carrier, Garuda Indonesia.
“We are optimistic about it although we will have to compete with Singaporean and Malaysian airlines.”
Possibly, Garuda would experiment with charter flights to test demand, but that would require tour companies in Myanmar to package pilgrim-style tours for Buddhists.
inside no 2There are no direct flights between Jakarta the Indonesian capital and Yangon so talk of establishing services between Yogyakarta and Yangon is a long-shot.
Only a few tourists from Myanmar visit Indonesia each year despite visa-free travel between the two countries.
The main attraction is the abundance of historical Buddhist temples around Borobudur, located close to Yogyakarta.
The ambassador added: “For the people of Myanmar, Borobudur is not only an artifact, but also a holy site, just like Medina is for Muslims.”
“We have discussed plans to start a religious tour of Buddhist temples in Indonesia. There are many tourists from Myanmar who are interested in visiting Buddhist temples, especially Borobudur, but airline access is still limited.”
To boost awareness of Indonesia’s cultural treasures, the embassy of Indonesia in Myanmar plans to host a Yogyakarta and Surakarta batik exhibition this March.
A possible challenge in attracting more Buddhist tourists to visit Muslim-majority Indonesia could be the ongoing religious tensions in Myanmar. The Myanmar government has faced severe criticism in recent years over the treatment of the Muslim Rohingya minority in the country, many of whom have fled to Indonesia, the report said.

sourced:ttrweekly.com 

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