New Year Celebrations: Yogyakarta, Central Java

Yogyakarta in Central Java is one of those cities that is a drawcard for New year’s Eve. Perhaps this has a lot to do with the friendliness of the Yogyanese and of course their willingness to party non-stop. As I mentioned in a previous article, I have had many New Year’s Eve in Yogya and it really is the place to be for your celebration of bringing in the New Year. And, the hotels and losmens etc are filling fast. So, what are you waiting for!.

With a week to go to New Year’s Eve, most hotels in Yogyakarta are filling up quickly and preparing for a big party. The five-star Melia Purosani Hotel is fully booked as of Tuesday, according to public relations manager Rahayu Dia Sadmawati.

Another five-star rated hotel, the Grand Mercure Yogyakarta, similarly has over 85 percent of its 144 rooms already reserved for New Year’s Eve according to Sri Wahyuni.

“We are quite sure the occupancy will be 100 percent by Dec. 31, especially with regard to last minute reservations, which often happen,” Grand Mercure assistant public relations manager Wiwied A Wibisono said.

Separately secretary of the Association of Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants (PHRI) Yogyakarta branch Deddy Pranowo Eryono said that hotel reservations in the province were “close to 100 percent as of today.” Deddy owns the Melati-rated Ruba Graha hotel.

Yogyakarta has 368 registered non-star-rated hotels offering over 3,000 rooms, according to Deddy, as well as 35 star-rated hotels that offer about the same amount of rooms.

The country’s second biggest tourist destination after Bali, Yogyakarta expects to see 10,000 visitors by the year’s end.

A wide selection of festivities ranging from the traditional to the modern are on offer at the city’s night spots and entertainment centers, including hotels.

A countdown party with a traditional menu is on offer at the Ruba Graha hotel, while countdown parties with modern touches can be found at the Melia Purosani and the Grand Hyatt Yogyakarta hotel, which is offering “A Broadway Celebration” party.

The municipal government is also preparing a countdown party for the public at Serangan Oemoem 1 Maret monument, right at the end of Jl. Malioboro, with various traditional art performances and a batik fashion show.

Various other New Year celebrations will be held by other regencies here, including one at the famous Kaliurang Resort in Sleman and on Parangtritis Beach in Bantul.

The municipality is preparing traffic management for New Year’s Eve, mainly along major streets such as Jl. Malioboro and Jl. Urip Sumoharjo.

“We will even completely close Jl. Malioboro to motorized vehicles on New Year’s Eve, to avoid congestion or accidents,” municipality traffic head Purnomo Raharjo said.