A Model of Sustainable Marine Tourism Development Policy(A Case Study at Libukang Island of Palopo City)

Abstract

The Government of Palopo City projects Libukang Island area as one of the marine tourism locations, which is expected to have an impact on the welfare of local communities, the preservation of coastal resources, and the increase on local revenue (PAD). However, said tourism area has not been optimally managed that the utilization of tourism activities are low and it has not contributed to the welfare of the community and its local revenue. From the aforementioned problem, priorities are needed to encourage the development of marine tourism. The objective of this research is to formulate policy priorities for developing marine tourism at Libukang Island. The research methods used were the survey method. The data analyses used were the suitability of tourism analysis to assess tourism potential and the AHP analysis to determine alternative policy strategies for sustainable marine tourism development. The results of this research regarding the potential of marine tourism in the Libukang Island show that index ofsuitability of the beach tourism of recreation and swimming categories are deemed very suitable (SS). Meanwhile, the indexes for marine tourism of snorkeling and diving categories are unsuitable (TS) because there are limiting factors such as coral cover,coral life forms, and reef fish types. The priority scales of the policy are as follow: (1) improvement of tourism infrastructure; (2) promotion of tourism; (3) zone distribution for fishery and tourism; (4) community-based tourism management.