Reinventing the Authenticity of Nature Tourism: Social Capital-Based Ecotourism Development in Sendang Sombomerti

Abstract

Environmental sustainability packaged in ecotourism is a promising type of tourism. Ecotourism is deemed necessary to be developed because it utilizes natural beauty, aesthetics and environmental sustainability and pays attention to the balance of interactions between humans and nature. Ecotourism management can be accomplished by utilizing social capital. So this study aims to determine the extent of the role of social capital in the management of Sendang Sombomerti ecotourism in Sombomerten Village, Sleman Regency, Yogyakarta. This study uses descriptive qualitative methods to get an overview of the ecotourism management community group’s application and level of social capital. Data collection was carried out supported by primary and secondary data; informants were selected using snowball sampling. Source triangulation analysis is used to answer the research objectives. Based on the research results, it is known that the level of social capital of Sendang Sombomerti ecotourism managers is classified as good/strong, and linking social capital is dominant. It is, therefore, easy to develop a level of social capital to advance ecotourism development.