Rural tourism booms amid natural beauty

Rural tourism booms amid natural beauty

Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post, Bantul, Yogyakarta

If you are bored with modern tourism and traipsing round the same
old shopping malls then you might want to re-energize yourself in
a natural rural environment with its air of tranquility.

And Yogyakarta is the perfect place to find such tranquility.
There is now increasing emphasis on rural tourism in this most
traditional of Javanese regions, with its natural beauty,
modesty, hospitality, traditions and food.

No fewer than 40 tourist villages are scattered around various
parts of Yogyakarta, particularly Bantul and Sleman. Each of the
villages has its own typical characteristics and unique features,
thus creating an attractive diversity.

The village of Ketingan in Mlati, Sleman (20 kilometers
southwest of the city of Yogyakarta), for instance, offers a
green, shady area with thousands of birds, especially kuntul
(egrets) and blekok (heron), roaming around in the wet season. A
semi-forested area on the fringe of the village is conserved by
locals to serve as the birds' habitat.

At full moons, hundreds of visitors spend the night in village
homestay facilities at the cost of only Rp 50,000 a night, while
watching numerous birds perching on tree branches and enjoying a
variety of local arts performances, such as jathilan (bamboo
horse dance) and campur sari (regional songs with traditional and
modern musical instruments).

Unlike Ketingan, Sambi village, located on the slopes of Mt.
Merapi, boasts an outbound adventure area with a mountain
backdrop. While relaxing, tourists can delight in the cool
mountain air of the tourist resort of Kaliurang, about 20 km
north of Yogyakarta city.

Ema Setiyawati, a pioneer in developing Sambi tourist village,
said Sambi was also undertaking agrotourism by arranging paddy
planting, harvest and harvest ritual packages.

For only Rp 35,000, visitors can participate in any stage
of the process from land tilling to harvest thanksgiving. Those
choosing to go sightseeing on foot or by bike pay Rp20,000,
including outdoor meals.

"We provide homestay accommodation in village settlements as
part of a package, too," added Ema. Head of the marketing section
of Sleman regency's culture and tourism office Shavitri H. Dewi
said hectic urban life has made people long for natural
environments to find peace of mind, as shown by the growing
number of tourists and tourist villages.

The increasing interest in tourist villages in Sleman has
raised their number from no more than 10 in 2002 to 25 in 2005.
Tourists visiting these destinations totaled only 500 in 2002,
but rose to 1,200 in 2003 and 1,500 last year.

"Tourist villages evolve 'naturally' rather than being
created. We just stimulate their growth and focus on promotion,"
Shavitri explained.

Meanwhile, tourist villages in Bantul regency have handicrafts
and inland water recreation activities as their attractions. In
Kebon Agung, Imogiri, for example, apart from agrotourism,
visitors can also go canoeing on the Opak River or go biking
along its banks.

Bantul has 10 tourist villages today, some of which rely on
handicraft tourism. In Krebet, Pajangan, tourists can enjoy the
lush vegetation of Menoreh Hill while observing and practicing
traditional batik printing.

Booming rural tourism has positively correlated with the total
numbers of foreign and domestic tourists visiting Yogyakarta.

According to Stef Indarto, chairman of Yogyakarta's
Restaurants and Hotels Association, the number of domestic
tourists has tended to rise annually. In 2003, they totaled 1
million, increasing to 1.2 million in 2004 and reaching 1.6
million until this month.

"Foreign visitors have been wary of touring Indonesia because
of terrorist bombings. But Yogyakarta still registered a fair
increase, with foreign tourists numbering 90,000 in 2004 and over
100,000 until November 2005. We predict they will later hit the
110,000 mark," said Stef Indarto.

Besides Yogyakarta's appeal as a tourist spot, the rising
number of tourists is also attributable to fast-growing rural
tourism "because a lot of people have stressful lifestyles and
wish to get back to nature. Whoever has tasted Yogyakarta's food
and beverages will one day return," Stef said.

Nonetheless, Stef Indarto expressed his hope that other
regions would not just imitate Yogyakarta's rural tourism
attractions, because such villages would have to present
something natural rather than artificial and require the support
of local communities in order to provide an authentic experience.