Bromo reopens to tourists

Local authorities in Malang, East Java, officially reopened the Bromo Mountain tourist site on Wednesday, after it was closed for five months because of volcanic activity in the area.

“The reopening of Bromo to tourists has been considered carefully. Our decision is based on several factors,” said Suwasto, the head of Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park administration, as quoted by kompas.com on Tuesday.

The first consideration was a significant decline in frequency of volcanic eruptions, as indicated by a reduction of volcanic ash coming from the crater, Suwasto said. The other was the fact that many local people were anxious to get back to work, he said.

“Bromo has been named one of the icons of the 'Visit East Java 2011' campaign, so it has to be reopened,” Suwasto said.

Upon reopening, tourists would still be forbidden from coming within 2 kilometers of the crater, he said.

“We have installed warning signs to inform tourists of the danger,” he said.