Exploration of Marine Tourism in Watulimo, Trenggalek Regency: Challenges, Potentials, and Development Strategies

Abstract

Watulimo District, Trenggalek Regency is one of the area in East Java Province that has an abundant marine potential. However, this huge potential has not been optimally developed in a form of marine tourism. This study aims to determine internal and external factors that influence the development of marine tourism in Watulimo Subdistrict, Trenggalek, and develop a strategy of marine tourism development in a sustainable manner. This study was conducted on 4 beaches in Watulimo Subdistrict, Trenggalek Regency: Prigi, Karanggongso, Cengkrong, and Damas. Interviews were conducted by using semi-structured technique. Secondary data is obtained from government policy documents relating to tourism; tourism infrastructure facilities in the research location; data of tourist visits; geography and demographics; socio-cultural and economic data. Most respondents believe that promotion (0.083) and tourist information center (0.075) indicator are considered very important. Advances in information technology have the highest weight (0.097), where respondents can know about the state of the marine tourism area based on information and reviews. The results show the number of scores obtained from the weighting and external factor rating of 2.656 (good value range), which illustrates that the marine tourism area in Watulimo has an opportunity in its development. Cooperation with travel agents, hotels, restaurants, and tourist information centers for Trenggalek District can be incorporated into their brochures to increase traffic.

Ecotourism Development Strategy of Bukit Jaddih Karst, Madura

“…Regulation can be a limitation of tourism development to remain in the principles of sustainability, avoid unhealthy competition, become a means of educating people and tourists, and become a pathway for sustainable tourism development [19].…”

“…External factor support strategy, in this case local government, is expected to be regulation, training, and mentoring. The government's attention will accelerate ecotourism development and maximize the role of local communities [19,21].…”

Coopetition in Maritime Tourism: Assessing the Effect of Previous Islands’ Choice and Experience in Tourist Satisfaction

“…The climate, culture and nature are the most influential elements when choosing a destination for nautical tourism, while the idea of nautical tourists travelling to other enclaves at the destination is related to cultural diversity, exoticism, quality of services and distance [16,[34][35][36]. According to [37], for any nautical tourist, life inland is less authentic and exciting than at sea, and for this reason they look for innovative and genuine experiences at destinations.…”

The Analysis of Ecotourism Eligibility in the North Coast of Makassar

“…Bira Village alone has an ecological function but also has an economical function so that in its development it is necessary to preserve it so that resources can still function to balance the environment and still be enjoyed by future generations. To achieve the ecotourism goal, socialization programs, promotion, cooperation, community participation in the event ecotourism that must emphasize supervision, conservation and protection of natural resource [6,7,15,16].…”

“…Most of ecotourism destinations are located in remote area. Hence, the development of ecotourism requires several strategies including increasing promotion, preserving the environment and involving the community in tourism development [6,7].Institutional aspects, both government and society, also need to be analyzed so it will not become an obstacle in ecotourism development, as well as facilities and infrastructure of ecotourism areas [5].…”