Southeast Maluku to Enhance Village Tourisms by Learning from Penglipuran Bali’s Experience

TIMESINDONESIA, MALUKU TENGGARA – In the virtual discussion on tourism village development, the Regional Tourism Promotion Board (BPPD) of Southeast Maluku featured the keynote speaker from Penglipuran Village in Bali.

As one of the best tourism villages in the international scale, Penglipuran deserves to be a good example of tourism village development and management to Southeast Maluku.

The Chief Manager of Panglipuran Village, Drs. I Nengah Moneng, shared the experience of managing the tourism village. Previously, he informed that Penglipuran village is not a service village, but a cultural village. Penglipuran is located in Kubu Village, Bangli sub-district, Bali.

According to Moneng, his team partnered with the stakeholders named as Pentahelix to develop the tourism village. Pentahelix includes the government, academicians, professional organizations, media, and the local society.

Besides, the tourism village should have its distinctive product, such as tourist attractions, cultures, local creations, traditional buildings, and so on, Moneng stated.  

To develop a tourism village, Moneng stated, the tourism management should have a strong commitment, a strong sense of devotion, and a good human resource. The next step is to identify and establish the institution that is responsible to manage the tourism village.

 “The established institution should be professional and should have a strong vision and mission,” he added.

Initially, Penglipuran Village was not a cultural village, but a conservation village. As stated by Moneng, this village was established as a village that can maintain the local wisdom, cultures, and ancestral heritage.

Since its establishment, Penglipuran had become a center of interest, which then made the Government of Bangli Regency turn this village into a tourist attraction.

 “At that time, there was no institution managing the village,” he stated.

Due to the absence of professional management, there was no improvement on Penglipuran Village. Then, academician and professional organizations began to take part in this village development by offering a society-based village tourism concept.

 “The society plays a role as a subject, not as an object. This development is from society, by society, and for society,” he stated.

Strong commitment, devotion, and adequate staffing had given a positive result to Penglipuran Village. As stated by Moneng, in 2019, the income of Penglipuran had reached IDR 4.9 billion from tourist attraction tickets, not including homestay, tourism package, souvenirs, and so on.

Unfortunately, since 18 March 2020, Penglipuran has been temporarily closed due to the Coronavirus pandemic. However, Penglipuran has prepared a strategy to cope this crisis, just like when they were facing a crisis during the eruption of Mount Agung, Bali Bombing 1 and Bali Bombing 2.  

 “We have saved some reserve fund, at least to fulfil the primary needs,” he stated.

The management of Penglipuran Village always focuses on quality tourism. The management team does not only focus on the number of visitors, considering that there is a safety and healthy protocols that should be implemented.

The focus is on strengthening the cultural values and culture-based tourist attractions. Besides, the management team has committed to maintain the natural resources and environment, following the philosophy of Tri Hita Karana, the philosophy of Balinese society regarding the balance of relations between God, human beings, and the environment. (*)

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