"One of the focus of BUMDes development is increasing human resources in villages to manage the economic sector," he said in a written statement received here on Monday.
According to him, nature-based tourism villages should now be prioritized. BUMDes play a role in the process of revamping businesses in villages, such as developing tourism villages, he noted.
"If needed, BUMDes should become legal entities to strengthen their position. After the Omnibus Law is issued, BUMDes can become legal entities," the minister remarked when receiving the head of the Yogyakarta Tourism Promotion Board, Gusti Kanjeng Ratu (GKR) Bendara, on Monday.
He affirmed that his ministry is also cooperating with business players and universities, especially those who are members of "Universities for Villages" (Pertides), to assist in the process of revitalizing and developing BUMDes.
Yogyakarta is quite capable of managing tourism villages, he said.
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"We laud and thank Sri Sultan and the ranks of the Yogyakarta government," he added.
Meanwhile, GKR Bendara said that Kulon Progo would serve as a gateway to the Borobudur Highland.
The tourism board is collaborating with the Borobudur Authority Agency to make shallots grown in Kulon Progo one of the area's flagship commodities, she added.
"This shallot-producing village can become a tourism village. There are rituals in the process of planting and harvesting. I am trying to make agro-tourism in Kulon Progo," she said.
GKR Bendara expressed the hope that BUMDes would become the providers of shallots for the Borobudur Highland.
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Translator: Zubi Mahrofi, Raka Adji Putra
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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