Homestay Accommodation in Gorontalo: Is It According to ASEAN Standards ?

Abstract

Gorontalo Province is one of the regions with a growing tourism sector. One important element that must be met in the quality of this development is the availability of accommodations in Gorontalo Province, especially in regions adjacent to tourist destinations. One of these accommodations can also be observed in the development of homestays, which are a key characteristic of important tourism elements. This homestay is one of the supporting elements and an alternative to hotels and similar accommodations. However, whether homestays spread across Gorontalo Province have been properly standardized is still a debate among tourism enthusiasts and observers in Gorontalo. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine whether the distribution of homestays in the Gorontalo area has been standardized or at least meets the standards for establishing a homestay, thereby providing comfort to both domestic and foreign tourists. In this case, this standardization uses the ASEAN homestay standard to measure whether homestays in Gorontalo can compete in the tourism industry, both nationally and globally. Eleven homestays spread across various districts of Gorontalo were used as samples in this study, using a case study as a qualitative method. The results showed that most of the homestays in Gorontalo are qualified and worthy as standardized homestays according to the ASEAN homestay criteria.