Indonesia to develop tourism villages

Bakri had visited a tourism village in Baturaden, Central Java, recently.

He said the history and diverse cultures found in villages were worthy of promotion, according to the Jakarta Post.

"Besides that, village tourism would improve the wellbeing of people in villages. We hope the village tourism campaign will be able to alleviate poverty," Bakri said.

He added that the 200 villages selected would be funded by the Independent Community Empowerment National Program (PNPM Mandiri).

"The program was in fact launched in 2009 when 104 villages were chosen as tourism villages. This year, 200 more villages in 29 provinces will follow suit," he said.

Bakri added that according to the plan, the government had projected to develop 450 more tourism villages.