TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Yogyakarta is seeing high mobility ahead of Christmas and New Year holidays, said the head of Public Relations Division of the Yogyakarta Regional Police, Police Grand Commissioner Ihsan. "According to data we collected, there is a total of 371,241 vehicles entering [Yogyakarta]," he said on Wednesday, December 24, 2025, as quoted from Antara.
The data was obtained from the monitoring of Smart Province CCTV cameras located at eight points along the border with Central Java. Across all the entry points, Tempel was recorded the busiest with 111,349 vehicles, followed by Kikis Joholanang intersection with 84,929 vehicles.
Meanwhile, outbound traffic was also high, with 354,671 vehicles, as of the fourth day of the holiday transport operations. Tempel route once again became the busiest point for outbound traffic with 122,002 vehicles, followed by Prambanan with 98,819 vehicles.
Ihsan explained that the traffic density is dominated by two-wheeled vehicles and private cars. The busiest time periods are in the morning from 06:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. local time and in the afternoon from 02:00 p.m. to 05:00 p.m. WIB.
"We urge drivers to anticipate the high traffic during those hours for a more comfortable journey," he added.
The Yogyakarta Police are anticipating a surge in traffic during the 2025/2026 Christmas and New Year holidays by preparing traffic diversion once it hits approximately 2.4 million vehicles.
The Director of Traffic, Police Grand Commissioner Yuswanto Ardi, in Yogyakarta, last Sunday mentioned that the projection cites last year's holiday numbers, with around 1.6 million vehicles. "We are well-prepared for a surge of about 50 percent or around 2.4 million vehicles," he said.
These measures are not only implemented in the main routes to Yogyakarta, but also in tourist-heavy areas. "Because there will definitely be congestion. We have prepared routes around the Ring Road, whether it's the North, South, West, and East Ring Roads," Ardi said.
To support the smooth traffic flow during the Christmas and New Year holidays, traffic diversion instructions have been conveyed through accessible QR codes.
Ardi also highlighted Malioboro which is expected as one of the locations with significant changes in traffic patters due to the closure of the Kewek Bridge.
Therefore, traffic diversion will be carried out from the direction of Tugu Station so that vehicles cannot directly turn to Malioboro, but must go through Kridosono Stadium. This will also impact the area around the Gramedia intersection and the road in front of Bethesda Hospital, Yogyakarta.
"So, from the Gramedia intersection, vehicles will be allowed to head east, passing in front of Bethesda Hospital, and then to enter the Malioboro area, passing through the Lempuyangan flyover," he said.
Tourists Flooding the Malioboro Area
Tourists have started to flood the Malioboro area in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, at the beginning of the Christmas and New Year (Nataru) holiday on Sunday, December 21, 2025. According to Tempo's observation, the density in the heart of Yogyakarta has been visible since Saturday, December 20, 2025.
Although the New Year's moment is still about a week away, traffic jams have already colored several routes to Malioboro - the Zero Kilometer Point. The main parking areas (TKP) in the region such as TKP Ngabean, TKP Senopati (in front of Taman Pintar), Taman Budaya Yogyakarta (TBY) road to Malioboro II (south of Pasar Beringharjo) are full of vehicles with non-Yogya license plates, including tour buses and four-wheeled vehicles.
On Sunday afternoon, the density of vehicles and the influx of tourist groups using buses have increased. Several police officers from the Yogyakarta City resort redirected the traffic towards Malioboro - the Zero Kilometer Point, including on the Jalan RE Martadinata - KH Ahmad Dahlan road. Vehicles were diverted towards the south or to Jalan KH Wachid Hasyim.
The growing interests in Yogyakarta aligns with the recent 2026 Travel Outlook report released by the digital travel service platform Agoda. The report mentioned that the platform users' interest in visiting Yogyakarta in 2025 has increased by 29 percent compared to the previous year.
"Bali, which previously held the top position, has now dropped to second place in the list of family vacation destinations, and Bandung occupies third place with a 22 percent increase in searches from last year," said Agoda's Senior Country Director for Indonesia, Gede Gunawan, in a press release, as quoted from Antara on Tuesday, December 23, 2025.
Read: Tourists Flood Yogyakarta's Malioboro as Christmas and New Year Holiday Begins
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