The local administration has allocated a budget to paint the small town red, blue, yellow and other eye-popping colors in hopes to attract more tourists.

The first makeover phase, which took a month to finish, transformed Gunung Brintik into a vibrant and colorful village. The second phase is to paint the entire surrounding of the village, which has 325 houses.

“The second phase will take around four weeks to finish,” said Semarang Mayor Hendrar Prihadi.

“The administration spent around Rp 3 billion [US$225,000] to revamp Kampung Pelangi,” he added. 

Read also: Colorful kampung becomes new tourist attraction in Semarang

This year, the administration has set up an additional Rp 16 billion budget to fix the town’s waterways and river drainage system.

“The government is also going to build a food court in what is now a car repair shop, located beside Kembang market. And we’re also going to make a parking area in that location,” said Hendrar.

"The idea to create Rainbow village came after we saw the beauty of Kampung Warna-Warni, Kampung Tridi in Malang and later Kampung Kali Code in Yogyakarta. Hopefully, Kampung Pelangi will be the biggest [of its kind] in Indonesia and offer a new tourist attraction in Semarang," said project initiator Slamet Widodo, who works as a junior high school principal.

The popularity of Kampung Pelangi is not limited to Instagram; several international publications have also featured the village, including Vogue and Independent. (kes)