1. Introduction

In Indonesia, the economic transformation from agriculture to manufacturing sector faces serious problems, namely lack of capital, skills and entrepreneurship to process agricultural products. As a result, the agriculture sector accounted for 34 percent of national labor force, while its economic share was still under 14 percent. The population of the rural area was still high, i.e approximately 135 million people or 47 percent of total population [1]. The recommended way out is an economic transformation process which jumps from agriculture to services sectors. Farmers gradually develop an environmental services and specific culture in their respective regions.

Activities of tradition, culture and exotic environment can be packaged as rural tourism products that may appeal to visitors from outside the area. The concept of tourism development based on culture or environment in the village, will work together with the development of agriculture and provide opportunities for farmers to gain welfare. Tourism business proved to show the economic feasibility higher than farming [2]. This concept has been a flagship program in a number of countries, such as Malaysia [3, 4] and Thailand [5].

Ecotourism is a tourism-based economy sector that contains elements of education. Ecotourism is conducted in a professional and trained management which consider cultural heritage, participation and welfare of local people. Thus, ecotourism become an important economic activity within the framework of the conservation of culture, natural resources and environment. The International Ecotourism Society [6] provides a definition of ecotourism as a responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people and involves interpretation and education. The ecotourism service is believed as one of an economic approach, which explore the benefits of natural resources and environment within conservation values. It manages environmental and cultural services into real economic sector for generating benefits for many stakeholders to support sustainable development.

Opportunities to develop tourism in the village, or the development of rural tourism are still open. According to [7], a group of middle-class economic communities have a high demand for travelling and tourism. Along with that, a growth in infrastructure, particularly transportation, allows access to different areas of tourism destinations. Economic benefits from tourism and its supporting services are very large. Potential domestic tourists in Indonesia in 2013 reached 250 million travelling, with total expenditure of 13.6 billion dollars [8]. Meanwhile, total arrival of foreign tourist in 2015 reached 9.73 million visits, and generated of 11.1 billion dollars [1]. The number of tourists from Asean countries reached 40 percent of the total foreign tourists, where Malaysia and Singapore accounted for 1.49 and 1.74 million people respectively. Tourism is an extension of political relations whereby citizens visit each other for business, leisure and social reasons [9]. Concerning this economy potential, rural areas need to capture these opportunities. Moreover, with the agreement of the implementation of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) , the tourism sector becomes a priority to be integrated and developed [10].

In the Asean Tourism Marketing Strategy (ATMS) 2012-2015, the direction of development of tourism destinations in Indonesia includes (i) cultural heritage sites of Borobudur, Prambanan temples and Sangiran early human remain, (ii) the nature tourism of Rinjani NP, Komodo NP, and Mount Batur, (iii) the cultural tourism of Pentingsari village, Laweyan village and Kampung Naga, and (iv) coastal marine tourism include ports of Benoa, Tanjung Mas and Tanjung Priok [10].

This paper aims to describe the development of ecotourism in the framework of development of rural area. This paper is based on the results of the study of literature and research, and to describe the development of rural areas based on ecotourism services in Indonesia.

2. Destination Area of Ecotourism

The ecotourism services activitiy has a strategic position to generate regional economy. In Indonesia, the population spread over about 17 thousand islands, 470 ethnic groups, 19 local customary law, and not less than 300 languages, and diverse the heritage manner of high culture, is a major asset that can be packaged as the ecotourism products and services [11]. A momentum of tradition, culture and exoticism of the local environment can be packaged as the tourism product that attracts visitors from outside the region. Thus, farmers have the choice and variety of production not only farming, fish or livestock, but also from ecotourism business and its supporting services. This in turn would generate incentives to conserve agricultural production systems, a value of cultural tradition and environment. At the same time, it also results in an increase in social welfare and the regional competitiveness. Furthermore, utilization of these geographic constellations would enhance national insight and geopolitics of Indonesia.

A regulatory implementation of the ecotourism associate with the development of protected areas. In Indonesia, the National Park (NP) contributed the largest proportion of the protected area, reached 65 percent area. Ministry of Forestry [12] has established 50 national parks (Table 1) that spread in diverse ecosystems, in terms of land, sea and coastal areas throughout the nusantara archipelago. It covered approximately 375 area sites, accounted for more than 21 million hectares, or equal to 8.5 percent of national land area. This picture is still below the threshold of 10 percent of Indonesia's commitment to The Biodiversity Action Plan. The national park management is the largest component of Indonesia's conservation policy and it has been institutionally well developed. The national parks may also be the basis of biodiversity conservation efforts in national and international scale [13].

Regulatory framework of the national park establishment includes the substance, position, extent, endemic species of flora and fauna and job description of the implementation policy. The national park has characteristics that meets the criteria of UNESCO’s Biosphere Reserves, Ramsar and World Heritage Sites, or some others. The criteria of the protected area became the operational basis of the ecotourism services development.

Table 1. The National Park in Indonesia

Ecotourism services activity outside the national park area is also necessary to pay attention. Ecotourism development in remote villages near or outside the national park is very important. These areas generally face with the lack of infrastructure, information and economic activity. This can improve the distribution of economic development. These rural areas usually have a resilient conservation characteristics in social and environmental aspects [14]. The local indegenous, experience and cultural values has been attached in the rural environment to support an economic life. The region can be part of the coastal, sea, or land ecosystem; in a surrounding area of protected areas, villages or regions that have distinctive values for future generations. For example, tourism development along the southern island of Java has been a policy direction of acceleration of the rural development.

The ecotourism development outside the national park area has been developed by community or individuals who have competence in ecotourism. They usually have knowledge of capital, market information and potential ecotourism of a tourism destination areas. They, either individually or making collaboration with NGOs, universities, the local people are able to construct a channel of information to visitors through various mass media. Thus, the local people show a positive response through benefit exchange in socio, economic and environment aspects, so that all stakeholders are jointly responsible to ensure sustainability of ecotourism resources.

3. Ecotourism Activities in Rural Area

The ecotourism activities in the village come from social and cultural life, environment and economic activity. The social and cultural life of the village in terms of the residential (home), clothing, food (beverages), art, traditions, values / norms and its dynamics of life, can be promoted to provide an added value of tourism. Natural potential of mountains, beaches, lakes, seas, valleys, rivers can be used for cruising, sports or adventure. The economic potential such as agribusiness (agriculture, plantation, fishery, animal husbandry, forestry), home industries, or other supporting sectors in the village, provide the local people with significant economic added values. Those potentials can enhance the economic activity driven by complex factors, demand-supply, internal-external influence, creation-innovation, leadership and organization, as well as the dynamics of the village life.

Elsewhere, ecotourism services are always show a cluster character [15]. The ecotourism cluster is an ecotourism organization [16], that involves all stakeholders including local people, non-governmental organizations, private actors, national parks and the government. They shape a synergy to supply an ecotourism entrepreneurship. The social entrepreneurship is an important component as the basis of ecotourism entrepreneurship. This requires all parties to act to be a social entrepreneur within the organization.

A ecotourism business services operate very efficiently. It is shown through management priciples as a low volume of visitors group, a high quality of service and a high added value. A ecotourism management includes (i) specific marketing to destination area, (ii) implementation of information technology (IT) based practices, (iii) skills based services, containing educational elements to the environment and culture, (iv) involvement of local people as the subject in environmental conservation and cultural learning. Ecotourism products and services comprises at least six categories [17] include (i) the environment views and cultural attractions, (ii) the benefits of landscape, (iii) the accommodation and service facilities, (iv) the equipment, (v) the education and skills and (vi) the award (Table 2).

Table 2. Products and Services of Ecotourism in Selected National Parks

Demand for the services of rural tourism or various objects in the village is very high. Travellers are highly passionate to go to the villages or remote areas. Domestic and foreign tourists are willing to travel long distances to arrive at villages of Ngadas or Ngadisari (Bromo, East Java), Candirejo (Magelang, Central Java), Rajegwesi (Banyuwangi, East Java), Wanci (Wakatobi), Komodo NP (West Nusa Tenggara), Baluran NP (East Java), Raja Ampat (Papua) or other exotic places across the archipelago. The whole of 50 national parks in Indonesia have the potential of tourism (or ecotourism) with the atractive objects. Travellers wish to gain experiences and tourism learning, and understanding how the principles of environmental and cultural conservation are addressed.

Efforts to identify a competence of ecotourism services of local people can be an important method to develop it systematically. For example, the local people in Ngadas village have a significant experience in its interaction with officials of Bromo Tengger Semeru NP [18]. They were often involved in ecotourism development programs with the national park.

Development of rural tourism in Indonesia is within the framework of The Master Plan of National Tourism Development in 2010 - 2025. The Ministry of Tourism as the leading sector, have established 50 National Tourism Destinations (NTDs), in which 15 NTDs were promoted through Destination Management Organization (DMO), which was the Sabang, Toba, Old Town, Pangandaran, Borobudur, Bromo-Tengger-Semeru, Batur, Rinjani, Flores, Tanjung Puting, Derawan, Toraja, Bunaken, Wakatobi, and Raja Ampat.

DMO is an integrated organization to manage a sustainable tourism destination based on the process from planning, operating and monitoring. The DMO program is conducted through coordination of central and local government involving the local community, tourists and other stakeholders to develop a tourism region. The program is also in line with direction of development of Asean Tourism Marketing Strategy (ATMS) 2012-2015 [10].

4. How to Develop Ecotourism?

Developing tourism village is multidisciplinary and integrated, involving all stakeholders, especially the local people or farmers. Macro-economic aspects, ecosystem and micro management jointly support functions of tourism village. Efforts to increase added value and quality of life became a stronger motivation for managing sustainable tourism. Therefore, all parties need to support it. The village should be designed to become much more friendly and comfortable. Successful of tourism village is able to empower the local people to serve a quality tourism services, to provide tourists with environmental conservation and cultural experience, and to obtain prosperity for their family. The following are principle thoughts for the development of rural tourism.

4.1. Product Development

Innovations on products and services tourism need to be developed continuously. Innovations in technology, products and services can be directed into diversification, creation, improvement, or change (based on imitation and modification) to give satisfaction and conservation values to travellers. The innovation needs to consider local conditions and demand of travellers.

Products innovation in Candirejo tourism village is well developed. Product properties of the Candirejo village is basically a Javanese culture, with Yogyakarta or Borobudur being the main destination of tourism. Tourism service activities carried out by the village cooperative institution, that was established since 2003. The cooperative already has networking with travel bureaus especially in Yogyakarta to bring tourists to Candirejo. Package tours are provided with attractive innovations and good services. Some of the innovations include clean homestay, culinary, cooking class for foreign tourists, playing gamelan, or cultural traditions. The cooperative works to develop innovations in various activities. The Candirejo village is part of the Borobudur DMO, is considered as the most ready to anticipate the AEC in 2015, following the direction of the Asean Tourism Marketing Strategy (ATMS) 2012-2015 [10].

The objective of development of ecotourism products and services are addressed at the activities of interpretation. The interpretation is some attempts to explore an understanding of an tourism object, so that someone is able to react and generate a positive relationship with regard to nature and environment. In order to create a positive relationship, it requires an interpreter, who served as an explanatory and an interpreter an the objects to the visitor. The interpretation can strengthen the knowledge of visitors and improve their behavior in sustainable ecotourism [19]. The activity of interpretation is grouped on fifth product, namely education and skills (Table 2).

Without the interpretation, the ecotourism activities do not operate optimally. In such circumstances, the activity of ecotourism services still rely on natural resources and lead to exploitation. In other words, without the interpretation, it opens an opportunities that may threaten the environment, such as selling firewood (2.1 percent) and trading other forest products (2.8 percent), and hunting animals (3.5 percent) [20]. Greater threats occur in areas where high population densities and without the ability to entrepreneurship.

The activities of interpretation should be the focus of ecotourism product development. These activities require a skillful of philosophical interpretation up to the practical matter for understanding of environmental assets, culture and other local characteristics. In the interpretation, transfer of knowledge and skills occurs to produce experience to the visitor and added value to local people. In Bali, visitors are given the opportunity to follow the traditional ceremony, by paying relatively high prices [21]. In Tangkahan [22], visitors can bathe the elephants by paying 15 thousand rupiahs, or a jugle trekking by elephant at 160 thousand rupiahs. All the attractions can be interactively packed involving a psychomotoric visitors. Discipline and service standards in ecotourism are also part of the efforts to protect ecosystems ecotourism service [23].

4.2. Entrepreneurship and Empowerment

Development of a tourism village is associated with the entrepreneurial ability of the local people. The entrepreneurial ability significantly determine the progress of economic development of the village. Entrepreneurship is played by village entrepreneurs, who are having business performance, forward-thinking, or productive behavior. They are basically a leaders, might be a head of the village, informal community leaders, businessmen or traders, farmer, driver or other people. They drive the village life through tourism services, with a excellent idea and a real innovation. Rural entrepreneurs will shape professional character and reflect the of competitive advantage [24]. Natural and cultural resources are creatively engineered to create quality products and services of tourism and to generate satisfaction for visitors within the framework of conservation principles.

The ecotourism entrepreneurship and the sustainable development show a close relationship. The ecotourism entrepreneurship concept comes from a challenge to implement the sustainable development based on community values. Social factors are important components of entrepreneurial development of ecotourism. According to [25], social learning was an important part in which individuals understand entrepreneurship. By participatory learning process, knowledge transfer process occurs and it distributes benefits and togetherness views in society. According to the [26], social factors transmitted a climate of entrepreneurial communities and it can be a potential measure of individual entrepreneurship. It can be measured in community support for the development of new businesses and response to revive a weakened business venture.

A research to measure the individual, social and government entrepreneurship has conducted in the region Bromo Tengger Semeru NP [26]. Table 3 showed the scores for individual, social and governmental entrepreneurships. The highest score of individual test was found in Cemorolawang (=38.21), followed by Ranupane (=36.00) and Ngadas (=34.45). Totally, the average score of individual test was 35.84. According to [26], the local people in the research are categorized as somewhat entrepreneurial (ranged between 30 to 39).

Table 3. Score of Entrepreneurship Test

Meanwhile, the highest score social entrepreneurship test was found in Ranupane village (=15.56), followed by Ngadas (=13.90) and Cemorolawang villages (=13.69). The average score of social entrepreneurship test was 14.61. Those scores ranged from 11 to less than 16, and may be categorized as mix support. It means the local people perceive that there is a half support in expanding the entrepreneurship.

In government support test, the average score was found of 15.33. The highest score was in Cemorolawang (=17.34), followed by Ranupane (=15.31) and Ngadas (=14.36). These findings showed that the Cemorolawang people perceived that there was a governmental support to expand entrepreneurship (16 to less than 21), while the local people of Ranupane and of Ngadas, showed that the government provide those half support (ranged from 11 to less than 16).

The research of [2] improves the description of entrepreneurship conception. They found performance and capacity of local people in real economic activity of farming and ecotourism. Economic feasibility analysis showed that farming or ecotourism activities provide benefits to the local people. This showed that local people with mixed farming job (farming and ecotourism) provides higher benefits than the farming only, with a NPV of 53.84 and 7.76 million dollars, as well as BCR 1.3775 and 1.0866. Meanwhile, variables in terms of facilities, experiences and and entrepreneurship score significantly showed a positive relationship to effect tendency of the mixed farming, each with a coefficient of 1.1522, 1.6928 and 0.15599. Those findings showed that three variables were a source of inspiration for local people into the entrepreneurial learning process and productive behavior in the ecotourism development.

Empowerment is an important component of entrepreneurship. Empowerment is determined by the leadership and local organizations in playing a tourism services. In the case where empowerment is weak, then it creates the economic domination from the outside, so the distribution of benefits to the people declined. It was observed by [28] in the coastal region of Bangka Island, North Sulawesi, in terms of the low quality of the population in education and knowledge, weak coordination among the local people, government and tour players, and the lack of commitment of local leadership.

According [29], empowerment requires a synergy of all parties, to assist local people in the development of tourism services. Empowerment is emphasized to control, sharing benefits and business initiatives. Stakeholders should work together to share information about destinations, trails, resorts and biodiversity. The combination of community empowerement and government support is realized through improved infrastructure or facilities.

The local people should be empowered to formulate their needs in ecotourism activities. They require some assistance of NGOs, the national park, university, and local government. Those needs are then accommodated in the plan of ecotourism development program. Based on experience of Indecon, ecotourism NGOs, it takes two years for assisting to local people of Tangkahan, Gunung Leuser NP, in which they are able to interact with visitors and tour operators independently. Before, the most of local people were actors in the illegal logging. Nowaday, they are the guardian in efforts of forest conservation and community development, Currently, the local people rely on their own needs into the ecotourism products and services, plantations and other supporting services.

4.3. Leadership

An ecotourism organization requires a proper management to achieve its objectives. The organization should be managed carefully [15], starting from planning, implementing and controling for empowering the local people with regard to the environmental conservation [30]. Tourism management organization has mechanisms that are influenced by culture and characteristics of products and services. An organization failure would deal with a threat on environmental degradation and welfare reduction. In this case, management of the ecotourism is characterized by low skills, poor communication, and no vision for the environmental conservation [31].

The ecotourism organization needs to be strengthened with the leadership to implement vision, mission and strategy in the environmental conservation [16, 33]. Leadership role is to explore the potential or local innovation in terms of socio-cultural and environment aspects [15]. Leadership guides various organizations or institutions to work together for developing a conservation vision. Then, it is implemented into the monitoring and protection of ecological resources fairly and responsibly. This requires all parties to act to be social entrepreneur in place of the social organization of ecotourism to generate a social benefits.

The leadership accomodate a vision and develop partnership relations with local people and other stakeholders [34]. This requires strong leadership and entrepreneurial ability to develop sosial welfare regarding culture and local distinctiveness as the capital of local innovation. The leadership is able to promote comparative advantage, technological innovation and specialization, local infrastructure, management, education and training, and marketing [15]. Existence of local entrepreneurs is a source of effective leadership in developing ecotourism. Entrepreneurs are actually doing and giving example of how to do business in ecotourism services.

Performance of leadership and organization of tourism village of Candirejo (Magelang, Central Java) can be a role model (Table 4). Since 2003, the Candirejo village developed to find their existing form. Today, the leadership has been growing optimally with better performance than Rajegwesi and Ngadas. The Candirejo village has became a place of learning and study trips for the last two villages.

Table 4. Leadership in Ecotourism Services

The cooperative model and organizational mechanisms in the Candirejo village support the functioning of the leadership, and vice versa, the leadership can stimulate the development of cooperatives and tourism services. Chairman profile of the cooperative occupies an important position to lead the cooperative to achieve its objectives. Leader profile in Candirejo is also showed by the village head, who since the beginning of the project has contributed much initiative and enlightment that may be accepted and understood by people [32]. Leader is trustworthy and able to inspire the people, thereby transforming the vision of conservation [33]. The village head and chairman of the cooperative are leader who has a positive influence in the community and members of cooperatives, especially guarding the vision and mission of conservation and economic empowerment around the Borobudur valley.

4.4. Infrastructure and Accommodation

Infrastructure development remains a major challenge of development. Indonesia's vast geography, the archipelagic nation, the uneven distribution of population, reveal a challenge for the provision of infrastructure. However, there is a significant progress, all regions improvised to develop roads, ports, airports, electricity, water and telecommunications to the tourism destination areas. Demand for the tourism services triggers the development of those infrastructures.

In the National Tourism Development Master Plan Year 2010-2025, the infrastructure includes public infrastructure, public facilities, and tourism facilities. The facilities and accommodation are the equipment and means need to be provided in tourist destination areas. Accommodation in tourist services show specific characteristics, adjusting the carrying capacity of the environment. Local resources in the village can be used creatively in terms of local environment capacity. Local accommodation could be a supportingly attractive product, and provide valuable experience to visitors. The facilities and accommodation in the village may be a homestay, restaurant or cafeteria, shop, souvenir or craft, internet, facilities and equipment to travel, discussion rooms, camping sites, information centers, places of worship, and a rest area.

For example, since 2010, Matahora airports, in Wakatobi regency, has operated to meet the needs of travellers. Flights to Wakatobi from Kendari are twice a day, using a 30 seat propeller plane. Even if the conditions of the airport is still modest but it is already functioning well. Previously, to go Wanci from Kendari, tourists take up to eight hours boating, dealing with very high waves, especially east monsoon (June to August), and the west monsoon (December to February).

In 2015 AEC, agreement on transport integration includes air, land and sea [10]. Air transportation is already more advanced than the land or the sea. There is a large agenda of the Asean highway network and a railway from Kunming (Yunnan, China) to Singapore. This agenda includes the route as far as 38.400 km in 10 Asean countries, connecting cities, ports, airports and business districts. This plan is certainly in line with the marine infrastructure of toll lanes that initiated by president Jokowi.

In general, circumstance of infrastructure on the way to the national park area is not satisfactory. For example, road transportation to the national park in East Java accessed from Surabaya or Bali is relatively available. However, access near or within the national parks are generally not limited. Public transport at night is generally not available. In Meru Betiri NP, public transportation from the nearest district scheduled only once a day. Public transport in Bromo Tengger Semeru NP integrates with small trader transport [32]. In general, motorcycle transport was more freely delivering visitors in the national parks region.

Constraints of access to the national park or ecotourism destinantion is not a simple problem. It is also not separated from the low number of visitors. More and more visitors, are naturally lead to invite investment in infrastructure. These challenges in opportunity for the development of transportation could be facilited by local people. Such vehicle facilities as trail bike, mountain bike, horse, boat or other motor may be rented to visitors with a more convenience services. These constraints gradually began to be solved with the progress of economic development and initiatives in local economic development.

In Candirejo village, most of the streets are paved and flat road so that support travelling and daily activities of the people. Travellers can enjoy a tour by a dockart village tour. In addition, visitors can do trekking to the Menoreh hill so far nearly 3 km. From there, visitors can enjoy the landscape of the Borobudur valley in between Menoreh hills (south and west) and Mount of Merapi and Merbabu (in the East) and Mount of Sumbing (in the southwest), and embraced by the Progo river flowing towards the coast in Yogyakarta. The landscape is developed as the object of a tourist attraction while enjoying the sunrise from the Menoreh hill [35].

4.5. Homestay

Homestay accommodation is limelight of tourism development, as well as a general program to improve the welfare of farm households. Homestay is suited for a medium of learning for development of entrepreneurship, introduction to culture, the storefront of products and services, planning and evaluation of quality standards of tourism. Criteria standards of homestay service include the size of the room or house, building layout and feasibility, and security [3]. Such as hotel, homestay is also as a workshop place of products and services of tourism, namely culinary, education, guiding, transportation and other supporting services.

Development of homestay was a main program of tourism development in Malaysia [4] and Thailand [5]. In Indonesia, a homestay development program was developed through program of Conservation Village Model. In the Rajegwesi village (Meru Betiri NP), homestay based programs were directed at some assistance in term of the biogas technology to reduce a firewood consumption; coaching a tourism organization, homestay renovation, training on hospitality services, guidance, English skills and culinary.

In the Ngadas village (Bromo Tengger Semeru NP), it can be found 46 homestays that received management training. One of the homestay (belonging Mulyadi) provides services of food, sleeping bag, bedroom, and clean toilet. There are also people who serve motorcycle, and jeep offroad transport (35 unit cars available). Road transportation are not only serve tourism activities, but only to support agricultural livelihoods. Villagers are also ready to guide for trekking to tourism objects and explaining the history and traditions of Tengger.

Candirejo ecotourism services were conducted by the village cooperative. The Cooperative office serves as the front office services such as the hotel does. Visitor facilities demand provided by the cooperative and connected with the people who give homestay services, transport carts, rafting, bicycles, art attractions, guides and other services provision. After completed activities, visitors make payment at the cooperative office.

The most homestay in Candirejo has a limasan building design. Limasan is a Java architecture, which has a philosophycal meaning for communication, self-reflection, rest and spiritual power. Homestay criteria is a wide size house, has at least two rooms for guests, electricity, clean water, tiled showers and clean toilets. Each homestay is labeled with flowers name, to give a message that is easy to remember. There is a homestay providing a gamelan instruments to be played by visitors. Since its establishment, the business development increased significantly following the number of visitors that were dominated by foreign tourists (Table 5).

Table 5. Cooperative Business Activity in Candirejo village

4.6. Promotion

Promotion is an effort to introduce, socialize, and involve all stakeholders in tourism activities. Community is increased their consciousness for enjoying, feeling, and involving in tourism activity. In the promotion, all stakeholders work together to synergize their potential to operate, develop and maintain a sustainable tourism. Hotels and restaurants, travel agency, airport, airline, seaports, bus terminals, or tourism offices in each province can provide information about national parks and other destination in their region. Researcher, NGO or other stakeholders also take a part to carry out a promotion in its respective field.

The promotion for domestic travellers is also very relevant because the number of domestic tourists is also very significant for the development of national tourism. In 2013, a number of the domestic tourists in Indonesia reached 250 million travelling, with total expenditure of 177 trillions rupiahs [8]. This provides a significant economic impact in all regions, lead to opportunities for increasing of a resource allocation based on tourism industry. It can be a learning process for formulation of tourism policy. It is necessary to enhance development of issues related to a distinctive ecotourism products in a region. These issues are a useful to illustrate attention to the world in order to identify their market. It then guide a development opportunities of marketing techniques.

Leunga et al. [36] stated that the use of social media provide a new perspective on the tourism promotion. The promotion through social media to give effect to both the consumer and supplier sides. From the consumer side, it helps the travellers in a travel planning process. While from the supplier side, it helps in the promotion, management and distribution, thereby increasing competitiveness. Both sides of the promotion should be conducted proportionally in order to generate benefits in a sustainable tourism. In the case the promotion on the consumer side is more emphasized than the supplier side may results in an excessive number of visitor arrival, as it may operate a market-driven manner [14]. These case become a common findings in many regions in Indonesia. Many of tourism villages may be extremely exposed through social media by visitors from anywhere, thereby indicating a mass tourism condition. Unfortunately, this is not followed by the skills improvement of local people in the management and hospitality in tourism service.

The purpose a traveller come to the region generally want to get satisfaction and to gain a tourism experience. They are willing to sacrifice the cost and effort to pay it. This shows that price is not the main variable in a tourism and travel market. Therefore, the promotion is the most important part of the management to attract tourists. The final result of the promotion is to increase not only the number of visits, but also the involvement, understanding, visitor satisfaction and (investment) development. The more parties involved, the promotions can build understanding of the environmental and cultural conservation through tourism services.

In a national tourism policy, experience from development of Bali tourism provides a valuable lesson. Villagers in rural areas of Bali are able to serve the needs of tourist services and obtain a welfare benefit. Thus, Bali is better known than Indonesia. Why? Because information about Bali in cultural and environmental aspects is more complete and positive compared to Indonesia as a whole. Information about Bali is also found elsewhere. This shows that the Bali has a better positioning than Indonesia. Bali is integrated with the cities and tourism destination in the world. The development of ecotourism services in a region needs to follow the positioning as Bali. This marketing strategy requires some support of product development, market segmentation, and marketing technology. It must be recognized that ecotourism destination areas in Indonesia has not yet been promoted properly. Tourism and its supporting services at the local level are the forefront of the local tourism promotion.

5. Conclusions

The development of ecotourism provide beneficial to the rural economic development. The village which is associated with agriculture life, will experience a paradigm changes from socio-agricultural to tourism-friendly society. This is very positive, because the villagers basically already understand the environmental and cultural substance. It provides two advantages, i.e. (i) to increase economic resilience in the country based primarily on protected area, and (ii) to accelerate the economic transformation from the primary sector to service sector through rural tourism life. Thus, ecotourism activities can increase both an economic activity and an environmental conservation.

The number of foreign and domestic tourists will increase visit to the tourism villages. This needs to be anticipated by all stakeholders for the development of rural tourism in the all region. Development of rural tourism can be done through the following efforts:

Product development activities with an emphasis on interpretation are intended to provide psychomotoric experience for visitors, in terms of cultural learning and environmental conservation in rural areas.

Development of entrepreneurship and empowerment of local people stressed to the independence in managing tourism services, through innovation and creativity to develop products. The empowerement emphasizes to control, share benefits and business initiatives for creating benefit.

Strengthening leadership in the village will have a positive influence in guiding cultural and environmental conservation vision. The local leadership also stimulates the development of tourism organization, and create partnership relations with local people and other stakeholders.

The government needs to develop infrastructure to areas of tourism destinations. The infrastructure and accommodation development requires spesific attention with regard to the carrying capacity of the environment. Local resources could be a supportingly attractive product, and provide a valuable experience to visitors.

The homestay development is the main program of rural tourism development, and provide local people with an increased revenue. Homestay serves as a place of learning development of entrepreneurship, introduction to the culture, the storefront of products and services, planning and evaluation of quality standards of tourism.

Promotion is the most important part of the tourism management in the village. The promotion intend not only to increase the number of visits, but also to develop an awareness about conservation vision to visitors. The more parties involved, promotions can build an understanding of environmental and cultural conservation through tourism services.