Development of Tourist Village Model Through “Pokdarwis” Empowerment and Information Technology Utilization

Abstract

Tourism sector is the one of the leading sectors of Batu City in Indonesia. To facilitate the achievement of the target of marketing Batu City in the international world, Government of Batu City can explore the natural attractions or the uniqueness of local tourism through the development of Rural Tourism. In early stage the development of Tourism Village in Batu City is done by forming Community Based Tourism called Pokdarwis.

This research is a case study on Pokdarwis in Village of Pesanggrahan, Junrejo, Dadaprejo and Tulungrejo in Batu City. Analytical techniques used in this study is descriptive analysis. Based on the results of data analysis in three locations of tourism villages shows that Pokdarwis still has not played an effective role in tourism activities. Only one village is Tulungrejo Village whose Pokdarwis activities are visible. In general, Pokdarwis in three villages faced obstacles in the implementation of activities in terms of: 1) Pokdarwis members still lacked awareness about the importance and benefits of increasing tourism activities in the region, 2) Pokdarwis members still due independently marketing and promoting their personal business, not their region; 3) The Government of Tourism Department does not coordinate and assist them intensively. These three things, hampered the development of tourist villages. In fact in these three villages each has excellent potential that can be developed. Therefore, to improve the role of Pokdarwis it is suggest that the goverment must empower Pokdarwis trough : 1) conduct socialization and training to open the the community mind about the importance and benefits of tourism activities development in the region; 2) help choose a reliable leader; and 3) conduct intensive coordination and assistance. In general it can be concluded that the existence of Pokdarwis needs to be supported and nurtured continuously, so that it can play a more effective role in mobilizing public participation in creating conducive environment and atmosphere to improve and develop tourism activities around tourism destinations. In addition it also needs the introduction of information technology for Pokdarwis to promote the potential of their village.

Keywords: Pokdarwis, Community Based Tourism, Tourism Village, Empower, Information Technology