| Abstrakt: |
Pantai Tanjung Kembang in Kabong, Sarawak is one of the ecotourism areas that are beginning to get the attention and visits of visitors in the country and abroad. The nature of the area has the potential to be developed and commercialized but the lack of response from the local community and inadequate basic facilities constrain efforts to develop the area. Therefore, this study was conducted to see the involvement of local communities in tourism activities and its impact on the environmental, economic, social, and cultural development of local communities in Pantai Tanjung Kembang. The method used in this survey is through a quantitative approach that is by distributing a set of questionnaires to local communities that are directly or indirectly involved in ecotourism activities in this area. A total of 77 respondents were involved in this survey, namely among the local community. The analysis technique used in this study is to use the Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 27.0 such as mean value, frequency, and standard deviation. The findings of the study found that the three main types of employment or involvement by the community around the area include small-scale businesses (35 people), tour guides (21 people), and coconut growers (21 people). The economic impact as a result of ecotourism activities showed a positive effect when the statements "employment opportunities", "business opportunities", "growing product industry" and "income generation" got a high mean value of (4.65), (4.57), (4.56) and (4.48), respectively. While the social aspect, two statements have a high mean value, namely "Increased social problems" (4.66) and "Entry of foreigners" (4.69). The statements for all three environments obtained high mean values, namely "Cleanliness of the affected area" (4.40), "Increased pollution" (4.43), and "Affected catch" (4.62). Finally, only one culture-related statement received a high mean value of "Landscape conservation" (4.00). Through this study, it can be proven that the Tanjung Kembang Beach has the potential to be developed as one of the ecotourism areas in Sarawak. However, the responsible parties, especially the state government, play a role in providing assistance and support in terms of finance and exposure to encourage local communities in ecotourism activities in this area. This effort is to encourage local communities in improving their economic level and eliminate the negative stigma on development around the Tanjung Kembang Beach area as an ecotourism area. The results of this study also help the planning and implementation of ecotourism development around the Tanjung Kembang Beach area which has received response and cooperation from the local community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
