The Levels of Community Readiness and Community Characteristics in the Development of Tourism Village (Bangelan Village, Malang Regency, Indonesia)

Abstract

Bangelan is a village located in Wonosari District, Malang Regency, Indonesia. Bangelan Village has an area of 167.2 hectares with various natural, livestock, and agricultural potentials that support the development of tourist villages. As a tourist village, Bangelan has obstacles in tourism development due to the subordinate role of village institutions and the low capability of the community as tourism actors. This study aims to identify the community's level of readiness in developing a tourist village. In addition, the relationship between the characteristics of the community and the level of community readiness was identified. Data collection was carried out on the community and key respondents through questionnaires, interviews, and observations. The community readiness model was used to assess the level of readiness and cross-tabulation analysis and chi-square test to determine the relationship between community characteristics and the level of community readiness. The results showed that the readiness category of the community was ready with the sixth level of readiness, namely initiation. These results also show that most of the community knows and understands the basic things about tourism village development and the critical role of leaders in planning and developing businesses. The level of community readiness is influenced by characteristics including involvement in the development of tourist villages, type of work, and gender.