Vol.9 No.1 Juni 2020 Hospitality 77 ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. GOVERNMENT’S ROLE IN DEVELOPING SUSTAINABLE TOURISM AT SANGIHE ISLAND REGENCY Oleh Steven Y. Kawatak1), Machiko N. Indriyanto2) & Yolanda M.K.H. Jangkobus3) 1,2,3 Universitas Katolik De La Salle Manado 1,2; Kairagi I Kombos Manado, 0811-4390- 1500 Email: [email protected], [email protected], & [email protected] Abstract Tourism is a leading sector and source of income for many local governments, including the government of Sangihe Islands Regency. Sustainable tourism development has been considered as a major factor in maintaining the environmental integrity, as well as social and economic equality of a region’s tourist attractions. This study uses qualitative research, where the data collection was carried out by observation, documentation and interviews with the stakeholders of tourism in the regency, in particular the local Cultural and Tourism Office. Moreover, in this research, the potentials of the Sangihe Islands Regency were identified and categorized into three, namely Cultural, Natural and Maritime, and Nature Reserve tourism potentials. The local government’s policies to improve and develop its sustainable tourism are then divided into four main aspects, which are the development of tourist destinations, tourism marketing, tourism industry, and tourism institutions. Lastly, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats are identified in order to develop strategies that would support and improve the development of sustainable tourism in Sangihe Islands Regency. Keywords: Sustainable Tourism, Potential, Strategy & Policy INTRODUCTION explains that “sustainable tourism takes on a set Rapid tourism development must be of policies to ensure those small businesses to balanced with sustainable development. survive over a longer-term, that they continue Sustainable development is mainly concerned to serve tourists, and it becomes a pillar for about the protection and conservation of natural achieving a stable economic base for the environment, while at the same time be able to community”. To achieve these development improve the equality of the society’s social goals, the development of the tourism sector is balance and economic conditions. expected to maintain the sustainability of Sustainable development in tourism is environmental ecosystems, while taking into held through a dynamic process along with account the local community's socio-cultural other sectors leading to improved quality and conditions, so that they can be maintained and quantity of goods and services. Therefore, can also be enjoyed by future generations. tourism objects need special attention from the One area in North Sulawesi that is government in terms of their development. experiencing tourism development is the Besides, they are natural wealth as well as Sangihe Islands Regency. This Regency is one portraits of areas that must be preserved and of the districts in North Sulawesi Province, maintained to invite domestic and foreign Indonesia, which has tremendous natural tourists. This is very closely related to potential and wealth, land, oceans, rivers, sustainable tourism development. Sustainable mountains, waterfalls, scattered small islands, tourism focuses on the long term existence of bays and beaches that offer various tourism local small businesses, particularly those activities nautical. The Sangihe Islands has an related to the tourism industry. Weaver (2005) underwater volcano called Banua Wuhu and ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. P-ISSN: 2088-4834 E-ISSN : 2685-5534 http://stp-mataram.e-journal.id/JHI 78 Hospitality Vol.9 No.1 Juni 2020 ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. nine diving sites. Various kinds of tourist to make these attractions reach a wider attractions found in the Sangihe Islands market, by gaining new market share. Regency have attracted many local and foreign 4. New developments in the presence of tourists to visit this area. Total visits of attractions that aim to improve visitor domestic tourists in 2013 amounted to 25,000 facilities or anticipate increased secondary people and continued to grow each year, expenditure by visitors. namely 2014 amounting to 26,500 people, 2015 5. Creation of new activities or stages of amounting to 29,360 people, 2016 amounting activities that move from one place to to 30,000 people and 2017 amounting to 31,765 another where such activities require people. This also occurs in the number of modification of buildings and structures. foreign tourist visits in the Sangihe island The rapid growth and spread of tourism district. In 2013, there were 500 people and around the world have resulted in its virtually continued to increase every year, namely in universal integration into local and national 2014 amounting to 525 people, 2015 amounting development policies and plans. In some cases, to 880 people, 2016 amounting to 1,910 people of course, tourism may play only a limited role and 2017 amounting to 2,110 people. in development; in other cases, particularly in The field of tourism is one source of less developed countries, it may represent the income for the regional government in this only realistic choice according to Brown regency. However, it is evident that in terms of (1998). sustainable tourism development, the Sustainable development is about cooperation and understanding between the protecting and conserving the planet’s natural community and the local government are still environment and promoting social equity and a lacking. Sustainable development should focus degree of economic equality within and on how the government minimizes between nations. This can be conceptualized as environmental destruction without sacrificing a process of convergence, so the question of growth in the tourism sector. This research is spatial scale is a necessary element in any conducted in order to identify the tourism serious thinking, and action, designed to make potentials in the Sangihe Islands Regency, to our world a better place (Blewitt, 2008). describe the government's efforts or policies in The sustainable development concept developing tourism in the Sangihe Islands provides a new discourse on the importance of Regency, and also to find out how the principles preserving the natural environment in the of sustainable tourism are implemented at the future, future generations "development that Sangihe Islands Regency. meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations LITERATURE REVIEW to meet their own needs." According to the Tourism development is a series of efforts Brundtland Report from the United Nations to realize integration in the use of various (1987), sustainable development is how to tourism resources integrating all forms of improve environmental destruction without aspects outside tourism that are directly or sacrificing the needs of economic development indirectly related to the continuity of tourism and social justice. development. Swarbrooke (1996) divides According to the World Tourism several types of development, namely: Organization (2005), sustainable tourism is 1. Overall with new goals, build attractions on "Tourism that takes full account of its current sites that were not used as attractions. and future economic, social and environmental 2. New goals, building attractions on sites that impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the have previously been used as attractions. industry, the environment, and host 3. Overall new development in the presence of communities. attractions built to attract more visitors and Tourism potential in the Sangihe archipelago is very promising. This encourages ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. http://stp-mataram.e-journal.id/JHI P-ISSN: 2088-4834 E-ISSN : 2685-5534 Vol.9 No.1 Juni 2020 Hospitality 79 ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. local governments and business actors to be their respective contexts. To get the right one, interested in developing tourism there as one of the techniques carried out are: the priority sectors, especially in areas that have a. Data reduction tourism potential. Through the concepts made The amount of data obtained from the field by the regional government and business actors was quite large, so it needed to be carefully such as environmental preservation, socio- managed and also in detail. Reducing this cultural, and economic improvement, it is data means summarizing, choosing the hoped that tourism development can realize the main things, focusing on the important goals of the nation and state to build a just and things, then looking for the theme and prosperous society, especially for the people in pattern. Thus, the collected data may the Sangihe archipelago. provide a clearer picture and can further Optimal use of environmental resources, facilitate the researcher in finding the which are key elements in tourism development required data. will help develop tourism in an area. One way b. Presentation of data to use it is through the implementation of After the data had been reduced, the next strategies for the development of tourism itself. step was to present the data. In qualitative The SWOT analysis strategy is considered to be research, the presentation of data can be very suitable in the development of tourism done in the form of brief descriptions, because SWOT analysis explains about charts, relationships