Rural tourism booms in Yogyakarta

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.