Sleman Merapi Volcano Tour Attracts Tourists

The Sleman's volcano tour, which starts on the slopes of the Merapi Mountain, has attracted many tourists during this holiday season (Christmas), Indonesia's Antara reported, quoting a spokesman for the Lava Tour Jeep Tourism as saying.

"We have seen an increase in the number of visitors this holiday season (Christmas). People want to see the Merapi Mountain after its eruption in 2010," said Feri Widiantoro, the Lava Tour Jeep Tourism coordinator on Tuesday.

"People can rent jeeps. There are 43 jeeps. Usually, a jeep is used for one trip only," he said, adding that a jeep can be used for two trips on Christmas.

"Around 500 visitors go to the mountain by jeeps. Most of them come from Bandung, Jakarta, Semarang and other cities," he said.

Widiantoro stated that during a holiday season, the cost of renting a jeep is Rp300,000 (US$31.09), while the off-peak fare is Rp250,000 (US$25.91).

"The cost of renting a jeep is higher during holiday season because the road leading to the volcano tour is very crowded. Hence, more fuel is required. Moreover, the distance between Tlogo Putri and the Merapi summit is very far," he said.

Meanwhile, the Sleman Tourism and Culture Service's marketing division's head, Nurhadiyati, said all the tourist spots in Sleman are popular.

"Most of the tourists go on a volcano tour (located in the Kaliurang sub district). They also visited other tourist spots," she said, noting that several tourism village packages have been booked by tourists.

Nurhadiyati hopes that around 15,000 visitors will visit the tourist spots in Sleman, such as the Gunungapi Volcano Museum, the Prambanan Temple, the Jogja Kembali Monument, the Boko Temple and other tourism villages on Dec 25 and January 1, 2013 (Christmas and New Year).

"Around 14,000 tourists had visited the region during the last holiday season. We hope that 15,000 tourists will visit the region this year," she said. (Antara)