Gianyar, February 11, 2025 – Bali Tourism Polytechnic (BiTP) is specifically supporting Taro Tourism Village in the Mentoring Upgrade Programme of The Best Tourism Village 2025. The Director of BiTP, Dr. Drs. Ida Bagus Putu Puja, M.Kes, along with the faculty, attended the Lembu Putih Tourism Site in Taro Village to provide full support to Taro Tourism Village.
Taro Tourism Village is one of the renowned tourism villages in Bali, known for its natural beauty and cultural heritage. According to www.desawisatataro.com, Taro Village is an ancient village rich in stories and cultural relics from the past. Taro Tourism Village has received several accolades, including the ASEAN Community-Based Tourism Award 2025 – 2027 at the ASEAN Tourism Standard Award in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. With international recognition, Taro Tourism Village is currently participating in the Mentorship Activity for the Upgrade Programme of The Best Tourism Villages by UN Tourism. Bali Tourism Polytechnic, as a State Polytechnic for Tourism, is participating in mentoring Taro Tourism Village.
The collaboration between BiTP and Taro Tourism Village has been established for a long time through community service programs (PKM). BiTP provides training on human resources as well as village development and management by Poltekpar Bali lecturers. In this mentoring activity, the Director of BiTP, along with the Deputy Director for Cooperation, Students, and Alumni, the Head of the Research and Community Service Center, and the Coordinator of the Tourism Destination Study Program (DEP), visited and directly assisted Taro Tourism Village in the assessment conducted by the UN Tourism Secretariat team. BiTP’s team highlighted several areas for improvement in the development of Taro Tourism Village, including strengthening the village’s philosophical values, village accessibility, and spatial planning. Poltekpar Bali is also ready to assist and facilitate administrative needs and tourism human resource development in Taro Tourism Village. The Research and Community Service Center of BiTP will create an internal team of BiTP to assist Taro Tourism Village in this program.
The Best Tourism Villages by UN Tourism is an award given to villages that uphold cultural preservation, diversity, and the protection of biodiversity. Currently, Taro Tourism Village is participating in the Mentoring Upgrade Programme for The Best Tourism Villages. This activity has received full support from the Indonesian Minister of Tourism, Widiyanti Putri. The Minister facilitates the mentoring activity by UN Tourism’s Secretary General represented by Prof. Amran Hamzah, for three tourism villages in Indonesia: Taro Village, Bilibante Village, and Pela Village, from February 3 to 28, 2025. After the mentoring session by the UN Tourism Secretariat, the process will proceed to the Evaluation by the Advisory Board and the announcement at the UN Tourism Event.
Bali Tourism Polytechnic, as a state tourism higher education institution under the Ministry of Tourism, fully supports efforts to improve and develop tourism, particularly tourism villages in Indonesia. This aligns with Bali Tourism Polytechnic mission to actively contribute to building local and national tourism with stakeholders at the local, national, and international levels.
