Mapping Creative Amenities to Develop Tourism Potentials in a Post-Mining Area: A Case Study of Bantar Karet Village, Bogor Regency, Indonesia

Abstract

In the past five years, hundreds of villages across Java have practiced tourism, including Bantar Karet, which projects tourism as a new economic structure. It has hosted gold mine activities for years by involving many villagers in non-formal mining activities. However, the ban on illegal mining activities by the government led to a search for new ways for the villagers to earn a living, leading to the operation of tourist attractions. This research discussed the socio-spatial aspect of organizing tourism in Bantar Karet Village using the creative class theory, arguing for its ability to explain the relationship between physical space and rural community development. This argument was tested using empirical data acquired through a mix-methods strategy. These include fieldwork to identify the location of tourism potential within the village, interviews with residents, and focus group discussions with key stakeholder representatives. Tourism potentials were analyzed using four creative measures, namely population, process, product, and environment. The findings subsequently showed several creative tourism traits being developed, as well as an unequal opportunity for the community to participate in tourism activities. Although the benefits to the village are still concentrated in the proximity of tourist attractions, this research confirmed the ability of tourism to enhance rural attractiveness to the creative class, facilitating their entry as tourists, residents, or employees.