How the ACB, through the support of the Small Grants Programme by the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (SGP I) and the Yayasan Pariwisita Berkelanjutan Indonesia (DESMA Center), turned the Batu Katak Tourism Village into an ecotourism hotspot in Gunung Leuser National Park in Indonesia.
Tucked away in a small corner of GLNP in North Sumatra, the remote and idyllic town called Batu Katak Tourism Village is growing in popularity among tourists, especially among those who want to immerse themselves in a plethora of diverse and endemic fauna and flora.
Local and foreign tourists visit the Batu Katak Village for a jungle trek and search for the rich flora and fauna in the area, such as the Rafflesia arnoldii
It is a far cry from a few years ago, when Batu Katak was not as well-known despite its proximity to famous tourist attractions around the area.
Today, this small village is making a big splash in ecotourism, especially after receiving a Cleanliness, Health, Safety & Environment Sustainability (CHSE) certification. This is the first CHSE certification for the tourist attraction category in Langkat Regency with the Indonesian National Standard (SNI), provided by a government-recognised certification body.
With support from the SGP, Yayasan Pariwisata Berkelanjutan Indonesia (DESMA Center) helped breathe new life into the tourism industry in Batu Katak after it was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
River tubing is one of the activities offered by the Batu Katak Tourism Institute in their tour packages (Photo credit: DESMA Center)
DESMA Center’s intervention has equipped small businesses with tools to enhance their ecotourism services and products and improve their market access. For instance, businesses were introduced to new approaches so they can further develop and better promote their tour packages and lodging services.
DESMA Center built visitleuser.com, a digital platform where small business owners can offer their products and services. This enabled small business owners to offer their products and services to a wider audience and strengthen their collaboration with relevant stakeholders for commercial purposes.
“As wellness, safety, and health protocols are becoming more important considerations for the tourism industry after the COVID-19 pandemic, digitalisation is an effective strategy to encourage sustainable and resilient tourism and reinforce tourism products and destination development. It is important to ensure that tourism is reintroduced in a more sustainable and environmentally sensitive way,” says Dicky Mardyan, co-founder and director of DESMA Center.
He added, “The project has encouraged the development of smarter tourism systems through digitalisation in order to support community- based businesses, improve tourism product quality and tourist attraction information, and promote ecotourism in GLNP Area III.”
In addition to creating the platform, DESMA Center empowered dozens of women by teaching them to create new menus that highlight local ingredients and fruits, which are offered as part of tour packages.
A single mother of three, Herniati is among the residents of Batu Katak whose life has changed because of ecotourism. She, along with other members of the women’s group Arih Ersada, received a series of training on hospitality and tourism from DESMA Center. Apart from helping her get a job at the Batu Katak Ecotourism Institute as a ticketing officer, the training allowed her to sell snacks and souvenir items to tourists in her spare time.
Herniati (leftmost) and the women of Batu Katak benefit from the training they received from DESMA Center on homestay, culinary, tourism management, and use of digital tools for marketing
Under the SGP grant, DESMA Center was able to sign Memoranda of Agreement with universities and travel agents; acquire and share new knowledge on business mechanism for both business-to- consumer and business-to-business; renovate key facilities; create training modules; prepare new tour packages with structured itinerary and quotation; share new tour guiding methods; and produce promotional videos.
For DESMA Center, the end goal of its ecotourism initiative is to encourage local business owners and other actors to protect natural and cultural resources in GLNP after reinforcing the crucial role they play in sustaining their livelihood.
With the help of the SGP, DESMA Center has transformed the Batu Katak Tourism Village into a thriving ecotourism destination.
