Thus, Borobudur Temple can become the center of spiritual tourism not only in Indonesia, but also the world.
“Hopefully, we can get a market from Bangkok to YIA because the captive market is very large. It can bring tourists who will worship here,” she said.
Director of Marketing and Tourism Programs of PT Aviasi Pariwisata Indonesia (Persero) or Injourney, Maya Watono, said that currently her party is not only looking at the quantity of tourists but also their quality.
Therefore, for the Borobudur and Joglosemar areas, Injourney will prioritize heritage, cultural, spiritual, and economic impact in the arrangement and management of Borobudur Temple.
“The quality of tourism that we are looking for is not just quantity. It can increase spent, the duration of stay is not just a short time,” Maya said.
Impact of thudong tradition
Febrina also said that as of Sunday (6/4), there was a movement of around 30 thousand people in the area, of which 18 thousand came to celebrate Vesak.
“The enthusiasm of the community is probably because of thudong. The story of thudong that walked 2,600 km has increased the hype about Vesak,” she said.
According to Febrina, the thudong tradition is one of the different things in this Vesak celebration. She also hopes that the journey of the bhante or monks can continue in the years to come.
“Our Buddhist brothers and sisters in the next three years will do an even bigger and further thudong with the destination at Borobudur. God willing, the new custom of celebrating Vesak with the existence of thudong can still be carried out in the next year. The enthusiasm of the people was extraordinary while they were traveling,” Febrina said.
The warm welcome of the community to the thudong monks and the support of the community for the smooth running of the Vesak celebration, he continued, also showed high tolerance in Indonesia’s diversity.
