Land suitability and economic value of ecotourism development in Masjid Lake of Kuantan Singingi District, Indonesia

Abstract

Masjid Lake is one of the Objects and Attractions of Nature Tourism (ODTWA) in Riau Province, which is located in Koto Kari Village, Central Kuantan Sub-District, Kuantan Singingi District. This area is potential to support the economic in the non-oil and gas sector. However, the ecotourism development in this area is not yet optimal because it is not supported by integrated ecotourism development planning. In order to support integrated ecotourism planning, this research was conducted to determine the suitability and carrying capacity of the environment, conduct economic valuation and formulate sustainable ecotourism management strategies. Data type have been used include secondary and primary data. Secondary data include thematic map, rainfall, number of visitor and current ecotourism management system. Primary data include bio-geophysical aspects of water in the lake and environment surrounding the lake, tourist characteristics and management status. Secondary data compiled from relevant sources and formal institutions, while primary data collected with observation and survey. The land suitability analysis used were weighted linear combination (WLC) method followed by the Douglas method to calculate the carrying capacity of the environment. The economic valuation of ecotourism was assessed by the traveling cost method (TCM). Meanwhile sustainable ecotourism management strategy was prepared based on evaluation of the sustainability of management with multi-criteria analysis (MCA) and SWOT-AHP. Based on the analysis, it can be explained that suitable area (S1+S2+S3) for ecotourism development in Masjid Lake around 21.87 ha or 95.10% of Masjid Lake ecosystem, Meanwhile, 1.1 ha (4.9%) not suitable (N) for ecotourism development. From 21.87 hectares of suitable land, it is known that the physical carrying capacity (PCC) value = 9,574 visitors/day, real carrying capacity (RCC) = 6,755 visitors / day and effective carrying capacity (ECC) = 3,378 visitors / day. While the actual tourist visit around 54 visitor/day is not exceeded environmental carrying capacity. The willingness to pay (WTP) value of tourists whom visiting to Masjid Lake around IDR 184,701 / visit / year, giving an actual economic value = IDR 3.64 billion / year, it smaller than available potential economic value=IDR 260.95 billion / year. Based on the MCA and SWOT - AHP analysis, it is shows that the sustainability status of ecotourism management in Masjid Lake classified as poor category with sustainability index=40.0%. However, based on the external and internal factors analysis, it shows that the current situation of ecotourism management in Masjid Lake classified in the favourable category because it has more strengths and opportunities than weaknesses and threats. The strategy that must established to improve current ecotourism management in Masjid Lake is a growth-oriented strategy, as follows: (1) Established an integrated sustainable ecotourism management plan (ISEMP) that accommodates all sustainable ecotourism development aspects; (2) Using the ISEMP as the basis to assess the feasibility a community-based ecotourism management; (3) Improve staff capacity and community participation for continuous ecotourism innovations; (4) Implement a digital-based ecotourism product marketing system according to market trends; and (5) Improving the ecotourism development accountability system and built ecotourism management reputation continuously.