press release kampung patin village wins national award for best tourist village

managed by SKK Migas, PT CPI and STP Riau

Pekanbaru, December 7, 2020 – Kampung Patin tourism village, managed by SKK Migas – PT CPI, was named the best tourist village nationally. The village, located in Koto Mesjid, Kampar, benefits from Chevron Pacific Indonesia's (PT CPI) training and assistance program. This program scored highest in the Best College/University in Tourist Village Assistance 2020 appreciation event, held by the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy (Kemenparekraf) in Jakarta on Wednesday, December 2.

The award was presented to Riau Tourism High School, or Sekolah Tinggi Pariwisata Riau (STP Riau), an SKK Migas – PT CPI’s partner for the tourist village training and assistance program, by Wishnutama, Minister of Kemenparekraf.

Eni Sumiarsih, Chief of STP Riau, shared her pride in the achievement, saying, “This program empowers people through partnership between higher education and industry (namely, SKK Migas and PT CPI).” She went on to thank everyone who helped and cooperated with STP Riau, including Kemenparekraf, SKK Migas, PT CPI, Riau Province Tourism Agency, Kampar Regency Tourism Agency, the Patin Tourist Village Development Team and all local community and tourism businesses in Koto Mesjid Village.

The second place award was given to Manda Bhakti Tourism Academy in Dongde Valley Tourism Village, Gentungan Village Karang Anyar, Central Java. Third place went to Universitas Negeri Jakarta (UNJ), in Cisaat Village, Subang, West Java.

Representing PT CPI, Rudi Arief said, “This is an amazing achievement. PT CPI's development programs are focused on increasing long-term expertise and skills in the local community to create independence, instead of dependency. The tourist village program is one developmental approach that aims to make locals more adept and more self-sufficient in developing their village's potential as a tourist attraction.”

Yanin Kholison, Sumbagut SKK Migas Business Support First Specialist (Spesialis Pratama Dukungan Bisnis SKK Migas Sumbagut), said, “This achievement opens up a new challenge for us: How to expand and sustain the results of the program in helping communities develop independence. STP Riau hopes to be able to continue developing programs to support tourism and the development of a creative economy in other Riau villages. STP Riau’s national achievement proves the triple helix partnership model between government, academies and industries is successful.”

On February 27 of this year, Kemenparekraf and many universities signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) about tourist village development through the training and assistance of human resources. The activities include Trainer Training (ToT) on relevant subjects to tourism awareness such as: sapta pesona (seven efforts to entice tourists to visit Indonesia: safety, order, cleanliness, coolness, beauty, friendliness and memorability); Cleanliness, Health, Safety & Environment Sustainability (CHSE) protocol and prime service through exploring, packaging, presentation and potential tourism product development.

Kampung Patin tourism village Development Program by SKK Migas – PT CPI and STP Riau aims to develop Community Based Tourism (CBT) by helping the local community increase skill in guiding tours and identifying the potential of tourist attractions such as homestays, souvenirs and culinary experiences. CBT empowers communities to develop environmentally, socially and culturally sustainable tourist destinations.

Results of the program include two new tourist attractions in the village: Golden Hair Cave, or Goa Rambut Emas, and Raven River, or Sungai Gagak. Food products are also now being produced from local Patin fish: fish burgers, fish cake or otak-otak, fried fishballs or bakso goreng, siomay, tekwan, empek-empek and patin fish skin crackers.

Homestay around Koto Mesjid Village has increased from 9 units to 30 units. The local community trained on Indonesia’s homestay standard as well as COVID-19 tourist location health protocols. This program has been followed up by the signed MOU between Kampar Regency Government, tourism business owners and the Family Welfare Program of Pemberdayaan Kesejahteraan Keluarga (PKK) in hopes that the tourism sector will bolster the community economy.

This tourist village program works harmoniously with the Kampar Regency Government’s pro forma in developing the tourism and processing industry.