The village law in Indonesia as mechanism to support decentralisation in tourism

This study aims to evaluate the mechanism of Indonesia's village-level tourist planning and development decision-making process following the adoption of the Village Law (Law No. 6 of 2014). The Village Law aimed to alter the concept of authority, how villages developed, including in terms of tourism. The village Law is a component of Indonesia's decentralized governance structure, which has been in place for the past 20 years. Decentralization is the process by which national government functions such as administration, financing, and authority are transferred to local governments. The Village Law was enacted to give the village government greater power, authority, and finance to manage their respective area, including planning the village development, managing the village assets and resources, empowering local community, improving public services and administration, and improving the social and economic well-being of the community. Additionally, the Village Law fosters increased community involvement and good governance principles like accountability, transparency, local participation, anti-corruption, and competent management. This article will examine how the Village Law would encourage and support local engagement in tourism development, particularly in the rural tourism community, because local involvement in tourism planning and development is crucial.