East Java City Offers Grape Village Tour

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - East Java's Mojokerto Regency introduced a new destination that offers a grape plantation tour in Kedungmaling Village, Sooko District, dubbed as the Grape Village Tour.

Kedungmaling Village Head Edi Prabowo on Wednesday said the agricultural tourism was a breakthrough in the economic recovery efforts, as the Covid-19 pandemic has affected and disrupted the people's economy.

"Therefore, the local community has taken the initiative to establish a grape plantation by utilizing the riverbanks," said Edi, Wednesday, September 29.

They have developed several variants of grapes, including Baikonur New, Beauty Krasotka, Oscar, Jupiter and Shine Muscat. "The grape seedling has started since March 14, 2021, with a development period of 7-12 months until the seeds are ready to be marketed. This was possible thanks to the collaboration between Kedungmaling Village enterprises (BUMDes) and the Majapahit Grape Association," said Edi.

Mojokerto Regent Ikfina Fahmawati appreciated the grape village tour initiative. "This is a great tour [idea] as a form of economic recovery during the Covid-19 pandemic. Thank you for the innovation," she said.

Ikfina also asked the grape village tour managers to pay more attention to the components of tourism development according to the guidelines and directions set by the government. One of which is related to CHSE or cleanliness, health, safety and environmentally friendly. 

"The tourism [sector] must pay attention to the CHSE component, and also think about how to impress the tourists after visiting the destination. It can be in the form of souvenirs, or maybe offering comfortable homestay facilities to attract the tourists to come back," she remarked.

Read: Tourism Ministry Pushes for CHSE Certificate Despite Objections

Antara | Maudey K. Setyakusuma