The Malioboro area of Yogyakarta City is officially designated a No Cigarette Area (KTR), in accordance with Regional KTR Regulation 2/2017. Yogyakarta Deputy Mayor Heroe Poerwadi said that due to the pandemic, inauguration of the Malioboro KTR was delayed until Thursday (11/12), from March. They also provided four designated smoking areas in the Abu Bakar Ali parking area, in front of Malioboro Mall, on the north side of Ramayana, and on the third floor of Beringharjo Market.
Smokers who violate the KTR rules can be subject to sanctions in the form of maximum imprisonment of one month and a maximum fine of Rp7.5 million. Heroe hoped the implementation of KTR at Malioboro could be used as a reference for other tourist attractions implementing KTR.
Head of the Malioboro Task Implementing Unit (UPT), Ekwanto hoped that the number of people who damage the KTR facilities that have been provided will decrease, as many smokers had used the drinking water faucet facilities as cigarette ashtrays. Head of the DIY Tourism Office, Singgih Raharjo, also confirmed that many tourists discard their cigarette butts carelessly. He added that initially, KTR were implemented to accommodate all tourists visiting the Malioboro area, both smokers and non-smokers. But over time, the goal of implementing KTR has grown to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.