Impacts of Nature Tourism Activities on the Local Economy in the Areas of Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park.

Abstract

The benefit values derived from a conservation area are still often underestimated. In fact, the real benefits, direct and indirect, are quite many. One of the utilizations of the conservation area is for the location of nature tourism. Tourism is one of the important economic sectors in the national development because it can improve the community welfare, create jobs, and stimulate regional economic growth. One of the many forms of tourism being promoted by the government of Indonesia is nature tourism that relies on the beauty of nature and natural panorama in conservation areas, including national parks to support the concept of ecotourism. Therefore, it is expected that this nature tourism activity can provide a significant economic impact on the surrounding communities, increase state revenue and improve environmental sustainability. The main purpose of this study was to analyze the economic impact of nature tourism in the National Park of Bromo Tengger Semeru (TNBTS). This study had four objectives: (1) to find out the value and impact of the local economic activities in the areas of TNBTS, (2) to learn about the hierarchies of the area development around TNBTS, (3) to learn about the magnitude of changes in land use in TNBTS areas, and (4) to fomulate alternative strategy on nature tourism development in TNBTS. The results of this study were expected to provide input to policy makers, namely National Park Center of Bromo Tengger Semeru and the local government as the party responsible for the development planning and the management of nature tourism, providing input in the formulation of policy alternatives that need to be done in nature tourism management, so that the impact and contribution of nature tourism to the community can be improved. This research was conducted in TNBTS areas, focusing on the Tengger Mountains Area, that is, Cemoro Lawang Resort, and the Mount Semeru Climbing Area called Ranupane Resort. The economic value of nature tourism in TNBTS area was obtained from estimating the cost of tourist spending. Based on this approach, it was obtained that the total economic value of running nature tourism in TNBTS was 341.23 million rupiah, which consisted of tourism activities in Tengger Mountains amounting to 326.90 million rupiah (95.80 %) and in the hiking area of Mount Semeru at 14.33 million rupiah (4.20 %). The average tourist expenditure for one visit in the Tengger Mountains Area was 2,769,363 rupiah. Approximately 2,258,620 rupiah (81.56 %) of tourist spending occurred outside the national park. Meanwhile, the average tourist expenditure for one visit in the Mount Semeru Climbing Area was 569,000 rupiah per person. Approximately 438,443 rupiah (77.05 %) of tourist spending occurred outside the national park. The expenditure of travelers provides direct as well as indirect benefits and further impact on the communities around the areas. The economic impact of tourist spending was quantified using Keynesian Multiplier. The results indicated vii that the economic impact of tourist spending on the Tengger Mountains Area was higher than that in the Mount Semeru Climbing Area. From the study results, it is also important to note that the value of Local Income Multiplier in the Tengger Mountains Area was 0.11, the value of Ratio Income Multiplier Type 1 was 6.14, and the value of Ratio Income Multiplier Type 2 was 7.59. In the meantime, in the Mount Semeru Climbing Area, the same values were recorded 0.48, 2.71, and 4.06, respectively. With these values it can be said that nature tourism activities in the TNBTS areas were able to bring economic impact, although still relatively small, to the communities around the areas. The villages located in the vicinity of TNBTS areas were the villages with a low level of development as indicated by the lack of public service facilities. The results of schallogram analysis showed that 4 villages (5.56 %) were the ones with a growth rate of Hierarchy 1, and the villages which belonged to Hierarchy II were 33.33 % and Hierarchy III 61.11 % out of the total villages around TNBTS. Two of the four villages that fell into hierarchy I -- Desa Ngadisari and Desa Ranupane -- were the villages that are directly related to tourism activities in the areas of TNBTS since they are the main entrance of the tourist sites. The high rate of nature tourism activities in the two villages has good impacts on the development of the areas in terms of increasing public service facilities, especially the service facilities such as accommodation, restaurants and eating places. In addition to the impact on the economy, nature tourism activities in the areas of TNBTS also affect the sustainability of the region. TNBTS region came under pressure in the form of encroachment and land use change, which is relatively higher than the surrounding communities residing in the villages with a low level of development and a village belonging to Hierarchy III. In the implementation, the management and development of nature tourism activities in the areas of TNBTS require coordination and cooperation involving different parties from various levels of responsibility and authority. The management of nature tourism in the areas of TNBTS requires a larger role and cooperation of the parties involved, especially from the central government, which, in this case, is represented by Center for Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park as the manager. Additionally, the nature tourism activities in the areas of TNBTS should be developed to form ecotourism with a priority of handling ecological aspects rather than economic and socio-cultural aspects, particularly ecosystems and damage control and waste management.