The production of these sandals is estimated to open around 1,200 jobs for the local residentsJakarta (ANTARA) - Special sandals called Upanat will be produced for visitors of Borobudur temple with the objective of structural preservation, according to Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno.
The special sandals will be produced by creative economy players around the Borobudur temple area, especially micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), in order to open business opportunities that can help improve the community's economy and welfare.
"The production of these sandals is estimated to open around 1,200 jobs for the local residents," Uno remarked while conducting a review of Borobudur temple, Magelang, Central Java, on Friday, as noted in a press statement received here on Saturday.
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In accordance with the instructions of the Borobudur Conservation Center, four thousand people are expected to visit the temple's courtyard and a thousand will climb the stairs to the temple in the Upanat sandals.
The visitors are required to wear the Upanat sandals, so as not to damage the stairs and structure of the Buddhist temple.
"We will definitely prioritize the conservation (of Borobudur temple), and we are also optimistic that this would become part of the efforts for fulfilling the needs of the community, as it has been facing the (COVID-19) pandemic for more than two years," he noted.
Head of the Borobudur Conservation Center, Wiwit Kasiyati, asserted that her side will limit the number of visitors, who can climb the stairs to Borobudur temple by using the special sandals.
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"Some work is still pending for us to allow visitors to climb to the restricted structure of Borobudur Temple," Kasiyati stated.
Earlier, General Manager of the Borobudur Temple Tourism Park Aryono Hendro revealed that the number of visitors to Borobudur temple in 2021 had declined as compared to the figure in 2020.
According to Hendro, the number of visitors had reached around 990 thousand in 2020, while in 2021, the figure only reached 420 thousand visitors. These figures are far below the visitor count before the pandemic, reaching 3.8 million in 2019.
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Translator: M Baqir, Raka Adji
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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