COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION TO IMPROVE TOURISM INDUSTRY PERFORMANCE: A CASE STUDY IN MANDALIKA LOMBOK TOURIST AREA

Putu Ayu Sita Laksmi¹, I Gde Wedana Arjawa², I Made Pulawan³

Universitas Warmadewa, Bali, Indonesia

ayusitatirtana@gmail.com

KEYWORDS	ABSTRACT
community participation, mandala, tourism, tourism industry performance.	Community involvement is crucial to developing a variety of goods and services, quality improvement and innovation, safeguarding natural and cultural treasures, enhancing local communities' welfare, and maintaining amicable relations between tourists and communities locally. Community involvement enables the process of tourism goods and services that are varied and suitable for visitors' requirements and tastes. Through active participation, communities can contribute to designing authentic tourist experiences, offering local cultural attractions, arts, and traditions, and presenting products and activities that suit travelers' wishes. This will enrich tourism offerings and increase the attractiveness of destinations. Through involvement in tourism activities, the community can create job opportunities, micro, and small enterprises, and earn additional income from the tourism sector. Thus, direct public involvement affects how well the tourism sector performs. This research was carried out in Lombok's Mandalika tourism district. This research evaluates the effect of public participation on the tourism industry's performance. The quantitative approach was employed in this study, and the research tool used was a questionnaire. The population in this study numbered 2,636, and the sample numbered 96. The findings of this study are that community involvement affects the performance of the tourism sector in the Mandalika tourist area of Lombok. According to the findings of this study, community involvement has implications for the performance of the tourism business.
DOI: 10.58860/ijsh.v2i6.63

Corresponding Author: Putu Ayu Sita Laksmi

Email: ayusitatirtana@gmail.com

INTRODUCTION

Mandalika is the name of a tourist area located on the island of Lombok, Indonesia. Mandalika has been designated as a tourist area under Special Economy Zone (SEZ) Mandalika (Annisa et al., 2019). Establishing the Mandalika area as an SEZ will accelerate economic development in the region and on a wider national scale (Nugroho & Pradini, 2020). Indeed, the presence of the Mandalika SEZ will strengthen the economy, which focuses on the tourism sector, by impacting the economy. Tourism sustains economic growth (Q. et al., 2021; Gedikli et al., 2022; Grilli et al., 2021; A. et al., 2020; I. et al., 2021; Vicente et al., 2021).

The Mandalika is a beach tourism destination. Several dynamics and elements affect tourism (Rosselló et al., 2020). One of the most well-liked subsets of the tourist industry is beach tourism (Zhou et al., 2022). Beach tourism can enhance the well-being and economic growth of the area (Bellaubi et al., 2021). The Indonesian government has constructed a MotoGP circuit in this tourist area (Caraka et al., 2023). The Mandalika area is a coastal area, and the construction of this circuit has made this area also sport tourism. Sports tourism is a quickly expanding area of the tourism sector that provides fresh viewpoints and encourages passengers to lead more active lifestyles, which is beneficial for sustainable travel destinations (Morfoulaki et al., 2023). Sports tourism is a crucial form of tourism that mixes travel with sports to draw visitors, boost the local economy, and promote local culture (Giango et al., 2022).

Community involvement is crucial for the growth of tourist places. The presence of the Mandalika tourist area has implications for the lives of local people. Equity must be the goal of any development of the tourism sector (Benjamin et al., 2020). The main factor facilitating sustainable tourism is local participation and engagement with a strong sense of ownership (Thananusak & Suriyankietkaew, 2023). Governments and tourism operators should systematically encourage public participation in tourism (Reindrawati, 2023). According to Tian et al. (2021), in Chinese, local communities have benefited economically from tourists, and the Chinese government regularly collaborates with other organizations to boost tourism and local economies.

Many local people have switched professions to the tourism sector. Mandalika's presence is felt as an opportunity to obtain promising job opportunities. Positive socioeconomic effects of tourism growth come from community involvement (Darda & Bhuiyan, 2022). Community tourism is created as a bridge between economic activity and civic engagement in an environment of change and new difficulties. (Zárate-Altamirano et al., 2022). According to Aprilani et al. (2020), community involvement positively and significantly impacts the tourism sector's performance.

However, public education is still low to work in the tourism sector. A suitable degree of knowledge should be the main goal of public education initiatives (Kebede et al., 2020). At the very least, people must be able to communicate in a foreign language and gain knowledge on how to treat tourists well to work in the tourism sector. The local government has made rules and urged tourism operators to take part in providing education and training to local communities. Public education and social support were the main responsibilities for enforcing and implementing regulations (Tantrakarnapa et al., 2022).

It was found that the community should have paid more attention to the environment in order to build tourism facilities. Tourism development should consider environmental aspects (Mamirkulova et al., 2020; Rasoolimanesh et al., 2019). The rise of the built-up area in the coastal tourism sector results from increased tourists driving the construction of tourism amenities such as hotels, restaurants, shopping centers, and other services (Sunarta & Saifulloh, 2022). The development of the Mandalika region directly impacts the persistence and diversity of species, particularly the birds that use the mangroves as their habitat (Salahuddin et al., 2021). Local people have to pay attention to the environment when building tourism facilities. The travel and tourist industry may transform into a new global economy prioritizing ethical travel, societal well-being, environmental protection, and civic engagement (Sharma et al., 2021). Due to the substantial growth of the tourism sector and the unsustainable effects seen, research in sustainable tourism is becoming more and more relevant (Xu et al., 2020).

The community has not been involved in decision-making. The community should be involved in decision-making related to development in the Mandalika tourist area, considering that it is in their neighborhood. Support from residents for tourism is essential in bridging the gap from community empowerment to local tourism sustainability (Khalid et al., 2019). Residents' perceptions of the state of the tourism industry motivate their involvement in value co-creation with visitors (Y. et al., 2020). To develop a resident-friendly tourist destination, the community needs to participate in planning (Eyisi et al., 2020). Residents' opinions of the growth of tourism influence how they interact with tourists to create value (Y. Chen et al., 2020). Various operational, institutional, and cultural factors determine whether community-based tourism initiatives are successful or unsuccessful (Zielinski et al., 2020).

The local culture has yet to be widely introduced to tourists. Since tourism is an international industry, there are increasing issues concerning traditional social customs (Zhuang et al., 2019). Local culture, among others, can be in the form of art or culinary food. Tourist purchases and souvenirs have greatly contributed to the retail tourism industry. They may be the greatest and simplest method to experience local culture (Lin & Mao, 2015). According to Song et al. (2019), customers are anxious to sample authentic cuisine and cultural traditions in ethnic restaurants.

Participation from the local community has an important effect on how well the tourism sector performs. To understand how community involvement affects the success of the tourism business, it is crucial to do this research. This study's objective is to examine how community involvement enhances the performance of the tourism sector in the Mandalika tourist region. In this study, it is hypothesized that community involvement improves the performance of the tourism sector in the Mandalika tourist area.

METHOD

This study used quantitative methods. Using the Slovin method, 96 respondents obtained a 10% error margin from the study's 2,636 total population. Data gathered for this study is first-hand data gathered from participants. In this research, questionnaires were used to gather data using the survey methodology. In the study, three months were expended. Software called Smart PLS is used to process and analyze data.

The tourism industry performance variable (Y) utilizes three indicators: sales (Y₁), profit (Y₂), and market share (Y3). The community participation variable (X) employs three indicators: in planning (X₁), participation in the implementation (X₂), and participation in the evaluation (X₃).

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

Construct Validity Test: Outer Loading

Table 1 displays the results of the convergent validity test based on outer loading, which reveals that all indicators have an outer loading of greater than 0.7 on the target construct.

Table 1. Outer Loading

	X	Y
X1	0,865
X2	0,881
X3	0,845
Y1		0,907
Y2		0,908
Y3		0,873

Construct Validity Test: Fornell-Larcker Criterion

The Fornell-Larcker Criterion evaluation or AVE root values used in the discriminant validity test are shown in Table 2. The concept is legitimate if the AVE root (number when written diagonally) exceeds the correlation between constructions.

Table 2. Fornell-Larcker Criterion

	X	Y
X	0,864
Y	0,823	0,896

Construct Validity Test: Cross Loadings

Suppose the construct indicator has a higher correlation than the indicator's correlation with other constructions. In that case, the construct is said to have strong discriminant validity. The maximum cross-loading value for each indicator against its latent variable is shown in Table 3. This demonstrates that all indicators pass the cross-loading test's criteria for discriminant validity. In other words, all signs are valid.

Table 3. Cross Loadings

	X	Y
X1	0,865	0,740
X2	0,881	0,754
X3	0,845	0,626
Y1	0,714	0,907
Y2	0,780	0,908
Y3	0,715	0,873

Construct Reliability Test

The study model's Cronbach's alpha values from Table 4 indicate that every variable has a Cronbach's alpha value over 0.70. These findings indicate that the research model has met Cronbach's alpha requirements, making the study credible. According to the composite reliability value, each variable in the research model has a composite reliability value of more than 0.70. These findings demonstrate that the study model has attained composite reliability and that all constructs are dependable.

Table 4. Construct Reliability and Validity

	Cronbach's Alpha	Composite Reliability	Average Variance Extracted (AVE)
X	0,831	0,898	0,746
Y	0,878	0,925	0,803

Hypothesis Testing

As shown in Table 5, the Path Coefficient and P-value results can be used to evaluate the direct impact of one construct on another by the proposed link. The P-value is 0.000, indicating the significance of the association between X and Y.

Table 5. Path Coefficients

	Original Sample	T Statistics	P-Values
X -> Y	0,823	21,434	0,000

Results from tests for validity and reliability are accurate and reliable. The results of hypothesis testing indicate that the participation community significantly and favorably impacts the tourism sector's performance. This study shows how well-executed community involvement can improve the functioning of the tourism sector in the Mandalika tourist area.

The Mandalika tourist area has great economic potential for the local community. Community participation in tourism can provide employment opportunities, micro and small enterprises, and skills development. By actively involving the community, they can experience the direct economic benefits of the tourism sector and improve their welfare. This research's findings align with the study of Aprilani et al. (Aprilani et al., 2020) that community involvement in the Mandalika tourist area can improve community welfare.

Community involvement in expanding the Mandalika area's tourism industry makes it feasible to promote and preserve the uniqueness of local culture. Through involvement in tourist activities, the community can introduce its cultural heritage to tourists, such as the region's art, dance, traditions, and culinary specialties. This understanding and appreciation of local culture can enhance the attractiveness of tourist areas and create unique experiences for tourists. Many people believe that the relationship between culture and tourism has significant potential for all parties involved and for the sustainability of local cultures (Terkenli & Georgoula, 2022).

Involving the community in decision-making related to tourism development in the Mandalika area is an important step. By providing opportunities for communities to be a part of the planning, implementation, and supervision of tourism projects, the decisions taken will reflect the needs and aspirations of local communities. It can also increase people's sense of belonging to tourism development and encourage shared responsibility in maintaining environmental and social sustainability. Sustainable tourism development is crucial (Boluk et al., 2019; Robinson et al., 2019; Sharpley, 2020; Sobaih et al., 2021)

As direct stakeholders in the Mandalika tourist area, the community has an important role in preserving nature and the environment. Their participation in natural resource management, eco-friendly practices, and conservation efforts can ensure that tourism is developed sustainably and does not damage the environment. Through education and environmental awareness, the community can become the main actors in maintaining natural beauty and attracting tourists who care about the environment. Caring for the environment is an aspect of sustainable tourism. Sustainable tourism that respects the environment is crucial (Sharpley, 2020).

Providing education and training to the people in the Mandalika tourist area can prepare them to participate in the tourism sector with relevant skills. This includes training in services, hotel and restaurant management, travel guides, handicrafts, and more. With improved qualifications and skills, people can have a better chance to engage in the tourism sector with a more important role and contribute to improving the sector's performance.

CONCLUSION

A beneficial partnership between the tourism sector and the local community can be established by actively involving the people in tourism growth in the Mandalika region of Lombok. Community participation can enhance economic empowerment, cultural preservation, inclusive decision-making, environmental sustainability, and the performance of the tourism sector.

REFERENCES

Annisa, R., Surjandari, I., & Zulkarnain. (2019). Opinion mining on mandalika hotel reviews using latent dirichlet allocation. Procedia Computer Science, 161, 739–746. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2019.11.178

Aprilani, T. L., Setiawina, N. D., Marhaeni, A. A. I. N., Heny, M., & Dewi, U. (2020). The Influence of The Role of The Government and Community Participation on The Development of The Tourism Industry and Community Welfare in Central Lombok District. Psychology and Educational Journal, 57(9), 672–679.

Bellaubi, F., Mallarach, J. M., & Sardá, R. (2021). A geoethical approach to unlock a social-ecological governance problem: The case of the tordera river (Catalonia, Spain). Sustainability (Switzerland), 13(8). https://doi.org/10.3390/su13084253

Benjamin, S., Dillette, A., & Alderman, D. H. (2020). “We can’t return to normal”: committing to tourism equity in the post-pandemic age. Tourism Geographies, 22(3), 476–483. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2020.1759130

Boluk, K. A., Cavaliere, C. T., & Higgins-Desbiolles, F. (2019). A critical framework for interrogating the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030 Agenda in tourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 27(7), 847–864. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2019.1619748

Caraka, R. E., Wardhana, I. W., Kim, Y., Sakti, A. D., Gio, P. U., Noh, M., & Pardamean, B. (2023). Connectivity, sport events, and tourism development of Mandalika’s special economic zone: A perspective from big data cognitive analytics. Cogent Business & Management, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2023.2183565

Chen, Q., & Mao, Y. (2021). Do city honors increase tourism economic growth? A quasi-natural experimental research study based on “civilized city” selection in China. Sustainability (Switzerland), 13(22). https://doi.org/10.3390/su132212545

Chen, Y., Cottam, E., & Lin, Z. (2020). The effect of resident-tourist value co-creation on residents’ well-being. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 44, 30–37. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2020.05.009

Darda, M. A., & Bhuiyan, M. A. H. (2022). A Structural Equation Model (SEM) for the socio-economic impacts of ecotourism development in Malaysia. PLoS ONE, 17(8 August), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0273294

Eyisi, A., Lee, D., & Trees, K. (2020). Facilitating collaboration and community participation in tourism development: The case of South-Eastern Nigeria. Tourism and Hospitality Research, 21(3), 275–288. https://doi.org/10.1177/1467358420966035

Gedikli, A., Erdoğan, S., Çevik, E. I., Çevik, E., Castanho, R. A., & Couto, G. (2022). Dynamic relationship between international tourism, economic growth and environmental pollution in the OECD countries: evidence from panel VAR model. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istrazivanja , 35(1), 5907–5923. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2022.2041063

Giango, M. K., Hintapan, R., Suson, M., Batican, I., Quiño, L., Capuyan, L., Anoos, J. M., Batoon, J., Aro, J. L., Maturan, F., Yamagishi, K., Gonzales, G., Burdeos, A., & Ocampo, L. (2022). Local Support on Sports Tourism Development: An Integration of Emotional Solidarity and Social Exchange Theory. Sustainability (Switzerland), 14(19). https://doi.org/10.3390/su141912898

Grilli, G., Tyllianakis, E., Luisetti, T., Ferrini, S., & Turner, R. K. (2021). Prospective tourist preferences for sustainable tourism development in Small Island Developing States. Tourism Management, 82, 104178. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2020.104178

Kebede, Y., Yitayih, Y., Birhanu, Z., Mekonen, S., & Ambelu, A. (2020). Knowledge, perceptions and preventive practices towards COVID-19 early in the outbreak among Jimma university medical center visitors, Southwest Ethiopia. PLoS ONE, 15(5), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0233744

Khalid, S., Ahmad, M. S., Ramayah, T., Hwang, J., & Kim, I. (2019). Community empowerment and sustainable tourism development: The mediating role of community support for tourism. Sustainability (Switzerland), 11(22). https://doi.org/10.3390/su11226248

Khan, A., Bibi, S., Lorenzo, A., Lyu, J., & Babar, Z. U. (2020). Tourism and development in developing economies: A policy implication perspective. Sustainability (Switzerland), 12(4), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12041618

Khan, I., & Hou, F. (2021). The dynamic links among energy consumption, tourism growth, and the ecological footprint: the role of environmental quality in 38 IEA countries. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28(5), 5049–5062. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-10861-6

Lin, L., & Mao, P.-C. (2015). Food for memories and culture – A content analysis study of food specialties and souvenirs. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 22, 19–29. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2014.12.001

Mamirkulova, G., Mi, J., Abbas, J., Mahmood, S., Mubeen, R., & Ziapour, A. (2020). New Silk Road infrastructure opportunities in developing tourism environment for residents better quality of life. Global Ecology and Conservation, 24, e01194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01194

Morfoulaki, M., Myrovali, G., Kotoula, K. M., Karagiorgos, T., & Alexandris, K. (2023). Sport Tourism as Driving Force for Destinations’ Sustainability. Sustainability (Switzerland), 15(3), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032445

Nugroho, A. M., & Pradini, G. (2020). The Effect of Successful City Branding and MotoGP Tourism Events on Tourists ’ Decision to Revisit Mandalika. Budapest International Research and Critics Institute-Journal (BIRCI-Journal), 22672–22683.

Rasoolimanesh, S. M., Taheri, B., Gannon, M., Vafaei-Zadeh, A., & Hanifah, H. (2019). Does living in the vicinity of heritage tourism sites influence residents’ perceptions and attitudes? Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 27(9), 1295–1317. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2019.1618863

Reindrawati, D. Y. (2023). Challenges of community participation in tourism planning in developing countries. Cogent Social Sciences, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2022.2164240

Robinson, R. N. S., Martins, A., Solnet, D., & Baum, T. (2019). Sustaining precarity: critically examining tourism and employment. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 27(7), 1008–1025. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2018.1538230

Rosselló, J., Becken, S., & Santana-Gallego, M. (2020). The effects of natural disasters on international tourism: A global analysis. Tourism Management, 79(April 2019). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2020.104080

Salahuddin, M. A. A., Rohayani, I. S., & Candri, D. A. (2021). Species diversity of birds as bioindicators for mangroves damage at Special Economic Zones (SEZ) Mandalika in Central of Lombok, Indonesia. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 913(1). https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/913/1/012058

Sharma, G. D., Thomas, A., & Paul, J. (2021). Reviving tourism industry post-COVID-19: A resilience-based framework. Tourism Management Perspectives, 37(December 2020), 100786. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2020.100786

Sharpley, R. (2020). Tourism, sustainable development and the theoretical divide: 20 years on. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 28(11), 1932–1946. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2020.1779732

Sobaih, A. E. E., Elshaer, I., Hasanein, A. M., & Abdelaziz, A. S. (2021). Responses to COVID-19: The role of performance in the relationship between small hospitality enterprises’ resilience and sustainable tourism development. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 94(December 2020), 102824. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2020.102824

Song, H., Phan, B. Van, & Kim, J.-H. (2019). The congruity between social factors and theme of ethnic restaurant: Its impact on customer’s perceived authenticity and behavioural intentions. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 40, 11–20. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2019.05.001

Sunarta, I. N., & Saifulloh, M. (2022). Spatial variation of NO2 levels during the covid -19 pandemic in the Bali tourism area. Geographia Technica, 17(1), 140–149. https://doi.org/10.21163/GT

Tantrakarnapa, K., Bhopdhornangkul, B., & Nakhaapakorn, K. (2022). Influencing factors of COVID-19 spreading: a case study of Thailand. Journal of Public Health (Germany), 30(3), 621–627. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-020-01329-5

Terkenli, T. S., & Georgoula, V. (2022). Tourism and cultural sustainability: Views and prospects from cyclades, Greece. Sustainability (Switzerland), 14(1). https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010307

Thananusak, T., & Suriyankietkaew, S. (2023). Unpacking Key Sustainability Drivers for Sustainable Social Enterprises: A Community-Based Tourism Perspective. Sustainability (Switzerland), 15(4). https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043401

Tian, B., Stoffelen, A., & Vanclay, F. (2021). Ethnic tourism in China: tourism-related (dis)empowerment of Miao villages in Hunan province. Tourism Geographies, 25(2–3), 552–571. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2021.1938657

Vicente, G. V., Barroso, V. M., & Jiménez, F. J. B. (2021). Sustainable tourism, economic growth and employment—the case of the wine routes of spain. Sustainability (Switzerland), 13(13), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13137164

Xu, F., Nash, N., & Whitmarsh, L. (2020). Big data or small data? A methodological review of sustainable tourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 28(2), 144–163. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2019.1631318

Zárate-Altamirano, S., Rebolledo-López, D. C., & Parra-López, E. (2022). Community Tourism Strategic Planning—Convergent Model Proposal as Applied to a Municipality in Mexico. Sustainability (Switzerland), 14(23). https://doi.org/10.3390/su142315945

Zhou, Z., Mehmood, S., Khan, A. A., Ahmad, Z., & Khan, S. (2022). Revival of sun-and-beach tourism through the lens of regulatory and risk dimensions of environmental sustainability. Heliyon, 8(10), e10893. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10893

Zhuang, X., Yao, Y., & Li, J. (2019). Sociocultural impacts of tourism on residents of world cultural heritage sites in China. Sustainability (Switzerland), 11(3). https://doi.org/10.3390/su11030840

Zielinski, S., Kim, S., Botero, C., & Yanes, A. (2020). Factors that facilitate and inhibit community-based tourism initiatives in developing countries. Current Issues in Tourism, 23(6), 723–739. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2018.1543254

© 2023 by the authors. It was submitted for possible open-access publication under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY SA) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).