25 Tourism Villages In Yogyakarta Need To Be Optimized During The 2024 Eid Holiday

Illustration of Yogyakarta (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - The government needs to optimize the potential of 25 tourist villages in the city of Yogyakarta. Especially in welcoming the momentum of holidays and Eid holidays in 2024.

Expert who is also a researcher at the Center for Tourism Studies (Puspar) Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) Destha Titi Raharjana emphasized this as an effort to seize opportunities for tourist visits in line with the high number of travelers predicted to enter Yogyakarta on this year's Eid.

"It is very potential, because this tourist village can create an atmosphere where they (tourists) may not have found it," he said, quoting Antara.

Destha said there are three tourist villages that can become "role models" of a total of 25 tourist villages in the city of Yogyakarta, namely Prenggan Tourism Village, Purbayan Tourism Village, and Rejowinangun Tourism Village, all of which are in Kotagede District.

He gave an example of Rejowinganun Tourism Village being able to network with industry, one of which is Gembira Loka Zoo.

"The Loka Zoo is able to be collaborated with by the Rejowinangun Tourism Village as a tour package, so tourists in Rejowinangun can enter for free," he said.

Through promotional packaging and the provision of proper tour packages, he believes that tourist villages can be relied on to detain travelers as well as tourists so that they stay longer in Gudeg City.

No less important, according to Destha, human resources (HR) that are able to convey interpretations related to each tourist village are also needed to encourage tourists to stay longer.

By extending the length of stay, according to Destha, it is hoped that tourists will spend more money in the city of Yogyakarta.

"The development of special interest tourism, which of course targets the'small group' is not mass tourism (large groups) so it can be expected to be able to spend more money," he said again.

The Ministry of Transportation estimates that as many as 193.6 million people will go home for Lebaran this year, with 6 percent or 11.7 million of them predicted to visit DIY.

For Destha, this is an opportunity considering the tradition of going home is able to have a multiplier impact on the economy that is the destination for homecoming.

"The Lebaran homecoming activity can increase the tourism sector. In addition to the goal of returning to their hometowns, travelers who have the opportunity to see tourist attraction can increase the income of the surrounding community," he also said.

In addition to increasing local revenue through tourist and parking entrance tickets, according to him, the flow of homecoming can also increase public spending and household consumption.

Therefore, the government together with service providers and tourism actors need to ensure the growth of a comfortable tourism ecosystem for visitors in order to create responsible tourist destinations.

"Tourist service businesses must be able to serve proportionally, so as not to damage the image of tourism just because it increases prices on the grounds of 'taji while' or providing less good services," he said.