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Plans by The Ministry of Tourism to build 20,000 home stays in tourist villages across Indonesia in 2017 have been given the full support of the government of Badung district. Badung itself intends to maximize the potential of tourist villages in North Badung to invigorate the tourism scene in the south of Badung.

“For Bali, the government allocates 600 homestays,” said head of the Tourism Agency, I Made Badra, as quoted by Nusa Bali. “For now, we are still waiting for news regarding the specific allocation for each regency/town.”

Once they have received confirmation, then the Badung Tourism Agency will decide which tourist village cluster will function as the pilot project. Currently, the tourist village clusters are spread across three districts; Petang, Abiansemal, and Mengwi. In Petang, there are five villages: Desa Kerta, Petang, Pangsan, Belok Sidan, and Carangsari. In Mengwi, the village of Baha is known for its handicrafts such as carved sculptures and webbing, while the village of Munggu and Kapal boast their art and culture appeal.  Lastly Abiansemal can take pride in the natural scenic sites of two of their villages, Sangeh and Bongkasa Pertiwi.

Other than designating 6 new tourist villages in addition to the 11 existing ones in Badung, next year the government has already prepared a special budget to build the supporting infrastructure for the tourist villages, which is expected to be around IDR17 billion.

Badra hopes that this program will help to increase international and domestic tourist visitations, and by staying at the homestays it could boost revenues for each region. When asked about the financing of the development of the homestays, Badra said that it will be a mixture of financing through regionally-owned enterprises, bank loans, partnerships, and self-management. “But we need to discuss it further with the central government,” he said.

Photo: www.iyakan.com.