Rapid economic valuation and sustainability analysis for managing ecotourism in Gili Matra Marine Conservation Area, West Nusa Tenggara Province

¹ Doctoral Student of Tropical Marine Economic, IPB University, Bogor 16680, Indonesia
² Department of Marine Sciences and Technology, IPB University, Bogor 16680, Indonesia
³ Phd in Rural and Regional Development Planning, Ministry of Village Development, Jakarta 12750, Indonesia
⁴ Centre for Marine and Fisheries Education, Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Jakarta 10041, Indonesia

^* Corresponding author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract

The Gili Matra Marine Conservation Area has dual functions as a center for marine conservation as well as an ecotourism destination. Although ecotourism contributes significantly to the economy, the area faces challenges in maintaining ecological and social sustainability owing to increased tourism activities. This study evaluated economic value using the Travel Cost Method (TCM). The status of sustainability was assessed using the multi-dimensional scaling (MDS) method by RAPFISH, with the support of leverage analysis to identify sensitive factors and Monte Carlo to validate the results. The results of the economic valuation analysis show that the average tourist expenditure varies based on the origin of the region, with the total economic contribution of the region being more than Rp 9.5 trillion per year. These findings indicate that marine ecotourism has great economic value and potential to continue to increase. The results for the sustainability level for the study area indicated that the institutional (63.83), infrastructure (58.32), and economic (56.53) aspects were moderately sustainable, whereas the ecological (44.91) and social (45.26) aspects were less sustainable. These findings confirm the need for integrative policies that emphasize strengthening ecological and social aspects, accompanied by infrastructure and institutional support.