Empowerment of the Community of Cisantana as a buffer village of Gunung Ciremai National Park through Ecotourism Program

Abstract

The welfare of the buffer village community is a factor that affects the sustainability of Gunung Ciremai National Park (GCNP). One of the efforts that can be made is empowering the community by developing and managing nature tourism through a partnership pattern. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct research in buffer villages, namely Cisantana Village, with the objectives are; assessing the potential for developing Objects and Natural Tourism Attraction (ONTA), identifying the level of influence and importance of stakeholders, analyzing the benefits and trends of natural tourism development, and strategies for developing and managing ONTA. Data collection was done by interview, observation, and library search. The analysis used; ADO ODTWA (Analysis of Operational Areas-ONTA), Analysis of the Level of Influence and Importance of Stakeholders, and Qualitative Descriptive Analysis. ONTA of Palutungan campground is worth developing. GNCP Office Center and Koperasi Alam Citra Mandiri are key players. The partnership program provides socio-economic benefits for the people of Cisantana Village. The ONTA development and management strategy can adopt the Pentahelix Model, which encourages the strengthening of tourism collaboration through optimizing the roles of BGCAM. The involvement of the private sector in product development in ONTA is required but must be dominated by the local community.