The Gunungkidul Tourism Agency has set a limit to the number of daily visitors allowed in Goa Pindul (Pindul Cave), a natural cave and tourist attraction located in Gunungkidul regency, Yogyakarta, as the government aims to preserve the site's ecosystem.
"The maximum number of visitors to Pindul Cave is limited to 2,600 people per day," Hary Sukmono, the agency's secretary, said on Monday as quoted by kompas.com.
The limit was set based on Environmental Management Efforts and Environmental Monitoring Efforts (UKL-UPL), a guidance document that also includes information on village-owned enterprises, such as tour operators.
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Hary urged tour operators to refer to the document, adding that he
hoped the new system would help to preserve Pindul Cave's ecosystem.
"The limitation of visitors is an effort to preserve the environment of Pindul Cave," Hary said.
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Separately, Saryanto, the director of the Bejiharjo village-owned
enterprise, which oversees the cave region, said the organization would
obey the rules. He further said that, in any case, the number of
visitors to Pindul Cave was far below the limit.
According to data obtained by the agency, 145,081 people visited the cave in 2017.
Saryanto said village-owned enterprises would continue to coordinate
with tour operators, adding that should the number of visitors
exceed the cap limit, the visitors would be directed to other
attractions.
"We will accommodate everyone for the good of all," he said.
Source - TheJakartaPost
