Minister: Integration of Pokdarwis and Cooperatives to Drive Village Economy

Tourism Minister Widiyanti Putri Wardhana believes that integrating Tourism Awareness Groups (Pokdarwis) with cooperatives will serve as a professional, inclusive, and sustainable economic driver for tourist villages. “Integrating Pokdarwis with cooperatives is a strategic step to strengthen the village tourism ecosystem, while affirming the village as an economic driver,” she said during the launch of the Pokdarwis Integration through Cooperatives programme in Keciput Tourism Village, Belitung, on Sunday. According to the Minister, this integration step through Village/Kelurahan Merah Putih Cooperatives is a tangible instrument to realise President Prabowo Subianto’s eighth mission (Asta Cita), which focuses on building from the village and from the bottom up to achieve economic equality and poverty eradication. The Minister assessed that Belitung has a very strong foundation to become a national benchmark for implementing this policy, owing to its natural wealth, community creativity, and strong spirit of mutual cooperation. Furthermore, she noted that tourist villages, a flagship programme of the Ministry of Tourism, are seen as the front line in introducing Indonesia’s natural beauty, cultural richness, and local wisdom to the international stage. She mentioned that the Bangka Belitung Islands Province currently has 99 registered tourist villages, 26 of which are located in Belitung. Several of these villages have achieved national recognition, including Keciput Tourism Village, which won third place in the Advanced Tourism Village category at the 2024 Indonesian Tourism Village Awards (ADWI). Tanjung Binga Tourism Village also won first runner-up in the Nature-Based Tourism Village category at the 2025 Wonderful Indonesia Tourism Awards, while Terong Creative Tourism Village secured a runner-up position in the Advanced Tourism Village category at ADWI 2023. Although Pokdarwis has long been the spearhead of tourism activities at the village level, the Minister stressed the importance of more optimal and structured management of economic benefits for local communities. “This is where cooperatives come in as a vehicle to strengthen community enterprises, expand access to financing, increase business capacity, and ensure that the added value of tourism returns to the community,” she said. The Minister expressed hope that this institutional synergy would provide a strong legal footing and mark a new chapter for the birth of tourist villages that are institutionally robust, have prosperous communities, and are highly competitive on the global stage. “Through this integration, various lines of tourist village businesses, ranging from tour package management, homestays, culinary offerings, souvenirs, tour guide services, to creative economy products, can be managed independently by the community under the legal umbrella of a cooperative,” she concluded.