Changes Brought About by the Growth of Tourism

Being the centre of Javanese culture, Yogyakarta is the second most important tourism destination, after Bali. Most tourists come to Yogyakarta for its strong Javanese culture and tradition.

Over the past years, Yogya has made tourism to be the urban driving force for the city. The government sees the opportunity to generate income, employment and government revenues.

In recent times, there have been many malls built in the city. Its aim was to develop special interest tourism, such as sightseeing and shopping, to generate economic benefits.

Malioboro, which used to be the administration centre of the city, transformed into a trading centre before it finally became the main tourism site in Yogya. Sosrowijayan, an area near Malioboro, seized the opportunity and turned into a tourist accommodation site, thus becoming a tourism development.

Kampong Prawirotaman used to be famous for its printed batik that was managed by the descendants of the land owner. In the 1970s however, business began to slack and thus they switched their business into lodging services, foreign tourists guest houses to be exact. Currently, Prawirotaman is now a tourist kampong. About 78% of the buildings serve double functions, as homes and commercial purposes.

Besides that, the cultural and traditional aspects are also affected. More traditional objects such as their magnificent arts and crafts are being exploited as souvenirs and cultural performances like the Ramayana Ballet are raising their prices to benefit from tourism.

Hence we can see how the changes are taking its toll on Yogya. As tourism grows, the city is taking its opportunities fast by utilizing their resources to economically benefit them is some way. Tourism in urban areas can not only generate income and employment, but also support urban facilities and services. However problems such as competition for the development of sites, over-use of primary attractions, and loss of authenticity and deterioration of culture could occur.