IPTI Maps Development Needs for Saung Eling Tourism Village
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Tedja Indonesia Institute of Tourism (IPTI) has mapped the potential and development needs of the Saung Eling Tourism Village, located in Kampung Lembur Sawah, Mulyaharja, Bogor, to serve as a basis for assistance tailored to the local community’s conditions.
“The development of Saung Elar needs to be based on the experience, needs, readiness, and decisions of the community, as the party that understands the area best,” said IPTI academic Pratiwi, S.ST., M.Par., in an official statement in Jakarta on Wednesday.
The activity involved the managers and residents of Saung Eling Tourism Village, alongside a multi-disciplinary team from IPTI, which mapped several aspects including tourism, hospitality, communication, MSMEs, digitalisation, financial management, and safety.
Regarding the tourism aspect, the team identified opportunities to develop heritage-based spiritual tourism, which relies on historical traces, rural landscapes, Sundanese culture, local gastronomy, and community life.
One cultural potential of particular interest is ‘Sedekah Bumi’. This activity is considered capable of being developed by strengthening community capacity in sponsorship and partnership, event and crowd management, as well as media partnership and promotion.
In terms of hospitality, IPTI highlighted the strengthening of local culinary offerings and the readiness of homestays. ‘Sop lompong’ was identified as a unique culinary dish with potential for development while maintaining its local character.
The team also prepared a homestay pocketbook containing room standards, manager obligations, and operational checklists to help maintain consistent service for tourists.
From a communication perspective, the mapping covered the need for managing destination identity, information, storytelling, social media, internal communication, stakeholder relations, and the integration of MSME and homestay information.
IPTI also noted that the use of social media, WhatsApp, digital reservations, and QRIS transactions has already begun in Saung Eling. The integration of these various channels and data is the next necessary step to support service, marketing, customer management, financial recording, and more structured business evaluation.
At the conclusion of the activity, the community determined their most urgent needs. Three emerging priorities include MSME development, strengthening homestays, and packaging homestay stays with events to increase occupancy rates.
Pratiwi stated that a collaborative approach is required so that the development of Saung Eling does not stop at potential mapping, but continues into assistance that aligns with the community’s conditions and capabilities.
“This activity is expected to serve as a foundation for continuing the conversation, aligning ideas, and designing forms of collaboration that provide real benefits,” she said.
The results of the mapping are expected to serve as a basis for determining the direction of assistance and development for the Saung Eling Tourism Village, taking into account the needs, readiness, and decisions of the community.