Impacts of the development of tourist facilities on the transition of villages: A case study of Gubugklakah Village, Malang, Indonesia

INTRODUCTION

Tourism villages in rural areas that offer unique tourist attractions such as physical features of the natural environment or social and cultural activities in rural communities can support economic development (Department of Culture and Tourism of Malang, 2006). Tourism villages are also a form of integration between attractions, accommodation and support facilities that integrates community life with traditions (Nuryanti, 1993). As a result, the development of tourist facilities should be a key factor in forming a tourism village and should be easily accessed by visitors. Two types of facilities which should be considered in the tourism village: primary and supporting facilities (Burton, 1995). The primary facilities are the main construction of tourist attractions while the supporting facilities represent the secondary facilities and conditional facilities. The secondary facilities are  facilities that  serve tourist’s needs, such as accommodation, restaurants and shopping centres. The conditional facilities consist of infrastucture and public transportation. In the supporting facilities, accommodation is a key consideration for tourists (Inskeep, 1991). When tourists stay in certain areas, it is important to experience local people’s daily lives and their physical environment if an accommodation package is well planned. It will also help tourists have a better understanding of the culture in the tourism village, which integrate attractions, accommodations, and support facilities in a local life’s structure (Nuryanti, Wiendu, 1993).

Gubugklakah village, located in the eastern of Malang, Indonesia, is famous for its abundant natural resources and a wide variety of vegetables. It is also well-known for tourist attractions such as Coban Pelangi Waterfall, Apple Agrotourism, and Ndayung Adventure along the main road to the tourist center of Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park. To enrich the tourist activities along the main road to the tourist sites of Bromo Tengger Semeru Park, Lembaga Desa Wisata (LADESTA), there has been an initiative to develop tourist facilities to help Gubugklakah transfer its status from a traditional village to a tourism village. The purpose of this change is to increase local participation and  develop a friendly village for tourists. This initiative was approved by the local government in 2011. In terms of the initiative, there have been significant changes in the landscape of Gubugklakah. More houses have been converted to homestays to make tourists feel the real life of the local community. Residential development located on the main street of Bromo Tengger Semeru also has undergone dramatic changes due to the spatial restructuring in this region. As a result, this study will focus on the spatial-temporal changes of Gubuglakah village and explore how the development of tourist facilities changed the status of Gubugklakah.

METHODOLOGY AND DATA COLLECTION

Data Processing and Analysis

This study adopted two approaches, spatial descriptive analysis and field surveys to examine the impacts of tourist facilities on Gubugklakah. The transition of Gubugklakah Village is divided into two phases: status transition phase and development phase (Figure 1). In the status transition phase, the key factor is the location of tourist attractions. It drives the growth of visitors and changes the function of Gubugklakah from a typical village to a tourist village. In terms of the growing tourist activities, various supporting facilities are constructed and the economy in Gubugklakah also changed in the development phase.

To represent the spatial locations of attractions, base maps of the terrain, buildings, road networks were collected. Attractions were pinpointed and overlaid with base maps. Locations of tourist facilities were collected by GPS devices. All spatial data was imported to ArcGIS for data processing and may layout (Figure 2). Data before and after 2011 was used to analyze changes of tourist facilities.

Data Collection

This study collected two sets of data: primary and secondary data. Primary data were obtained through field surveys and used to get in-depth information from local people and look for their opinions about the influence of a tourist facility. The respondents were villagers who worked in tourist facilities, such as homestays, restaurants, or shops.Other field surveys looked for the following variables as primary data as well:

1. Locations of tourist attractions
2. Locations of secondary tourist facilities :
   • Accommodation
   • Restaurants
   • Shopping centers
3. Locations of conditional facilities :
   • Roads
   • Toilets
   • Parking Areas

Apart from primary data, seondary data obtained in Table 1 were used for spatial analysis. The administrative and land use maps were selected to identify the location of secondary facilities. Quick bird imagery data was used to know the land cover change before and after status transition.

Results and discussion

According to the field survey, there are 4 travel attractions near Gubugklakah (Table 2). Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park (TNBTS) is especially the well-known tourist attraction which triggers tourism activities in the Gubugklakah Village. The development of tourist facilities in 2011 expedited the growth of tourist activities and stimulated the transition of Gubugklakah.

The key driver for the transition of Gubugklakah were found to be the changes of secondary tourist facilities. This study explored three cateogories: accomodation, restaurants, and shopping, to describe how Gubugklakah became a tourism village after 2011:

• Accommodation
  • Before 2011
  • There were 15 homestays.
  • Homestay is not the main income of the owners.
  • After 2011
  • The number of homestays increases to 35.
  • January, February, June, July, and August are the months that have many visitors (8-15 visitors per day) in every homestay.
  • Characteristic of development
  • The number of visitors increased due to the expansion of attractions.
  • Travel agents provided travel packages to attract more visitors staying in this village.
• Restaurants
  
  • Before 2011
  • There were 4 restaurants.
  • The type of food is traditional Indonesian food.
  • After 2011
  • The number of restaurants remained the same.
  • There is no further development of restaurant facilities, but the number of visitors increases.
  • Characteristic of development
  • Restaurant facilities are always located near the centre of tourism activities, such as CobanPelangi, Rest Areas Poncokusumo. Thus the number of tourists increased.
  • After the transition, the number of visitors increased significantly (Figure 3)
• Shopping
  
  • Before 2011
  • There was no shopping center.
  • After 2011
  • There are 4 stores in the Gubugklakah Tourism Village.
  • Characteristic of development
  • The development of shopping centres is triggered by the demand of souvenirs from tourists who visit this village.

Unlike other facilities, a shopping centre is a facility that experienced the highest growth. Before the status transition, there was no shopping store. However, the new status raised awareness of citizens to meet the needs of visitors and they were then encouraged to open souvenir stores and sell T-shirts, key chains, snacks, and so on, to tourists. The spatial distribution of these facilities also shows that more secondary facilities are developed close to attractions (Figure 2).

Household income is also influenced in Gubugklakah village due to the growth of tourism activities. Population in Gubugklakah village was 3,772 people in 2010, and most of the local people were farmers. In 2011, there was 15 homestays with the average income IDR $500,000, equivilent to USD $41 per month. After the transition, an economic shift took place from traditional agriculture to  tourism, and their average income became IDR $1,000,000, equal to USD $82 per month. 

Conclusion

The high tourism activity in Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park (TNBTS), accessibility and availability of transportation to tourist attractions are the main cause of the development of tourist facilities along the main road towards TNBTS. Increased tourism activity triggers the development of Gubugklakah Village into Gubugklakah Tourism Village in 2011. The development that occurred in that region has two characteristics, which are in residential areas and close to attractions. The development also results in the status transition of Gubugklakah village and promotes the growth of the tourism industry. Local people are encouraged to establish secondary tourist facilities such as hotels, restaurants, and shopping centres. As a result, their income is increased in terms of the growth of tourism activities. 

References

Burton, R. (1995). Travel Geography. London : Pitman Publishing.

Inskeep E. (1991). Tourism Planning An Integrated and Sustainable.Development Approach. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.

Mardanti, L. (2011) The Development of Secondary Tourist Facilities of Samosir 2004 – 2010. Thesis: Faculty of Mathematic and Natural Sciences Universitas Indonesia.

Nuryanti, W.(1993). Concept, Perspective and Challenges: International Conference Report on Cultural Tourism. Yogyakarta: GadjahMada University Press.