23rd September 2022 – The Tourism Office of Gunungkidul Regency, Special Region of Yogyakarta, is holding Gunungkidul Tourism Fest at Watu Gendong, Beji Village. This festival is held to introduce tourism spots in the northern region while celebrating World Tourism Day on Tuesday (27/9).
The Head of the Gunungkidul Regency Tourism Office, M. Arif Aldian, said that the northern region tourism spots need to be promoted for more visitors.
The event featured traditional arts, a batik cloth demonstration by Dimas Diajeng Gunungkidul, a practical demonstration of making batik cloth by young batik makers, and the performance of local bands.
He also said that tourist visits started to improve after the easing of the pandemic period thus, it become a good opportunity to introduce tourist attractions on the north side. According to Aldian, there is a shift in the trend from mass tourism to special interest tourism, one of which is tourist villages.
As a result, Watu Gendong is chosen as a venue for Gunungkidul Tourism Fest as it also promotes the destination in the north and east of Gunungkidul. It also to increase the area’s economy and acts as a place for the locals to exhibit their potential.
Aldian said that this is an effort by the Government to support the implementation of Community-Based Tourism (CBT) towards sustainable tourism. Which is through strengthening aspects of community empowerment, environmental preservation, and cultural preservation.
He hopes that tourism in Gunungkidul can be world-class tourism.
Gunungkidul Regency has 38 tourist villages. A few of them have received accolades such as Best Village Tourism 2021 from UNWTO for Nglanggeran Tourist Village. Tepus Tourist Village entered the top 300 in the Anugerah Desa Wisata Indonesia (ADWI) 2022.
Meanwhile, Candirejo-Semin Tourist Village and Kampung-Ngawen Tourist Village are in the top 100 in ADWI 2022. Then, Tepus Tourist Village rises up the ranks to the top 50 in the same event.
