The research is to explore the gaps in the challenges of managing sustainable coastal tourism in Sawarna beach of Banten, Indonesia. This study uses exploratory research qualitatively and quantitatively, interaction with a number of respondents using consistency with the analysis of the content of the concept. The respondents are stakeholders involved in the management, marketing and Programme activities of regional tourism agencies. The results of the study show that it is important to update or adapt coastal tourism management policies in order to achieve this goal. The objectives of both the local government and the Ministry of Tourism may be achieved by synchronizing and collaborating between stakeholders, the challenges of coastal management can be addressed through the realization of sustainable and ecologically based coastal tourism destinations.

Keywords: sustainable coastal tourism, Sawarna; content analysis

The Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy said that in the post-pandemic era, the tourism sector has changed from a quantity-based to a quality-based one, at a meeting initiated by US-ABC as a strategic partner of ASEAN. Awareness of cleanliness, health, safety and environmental sustainability is an important issue for tourists. However, the challenges ahead are increasingly complex. It provides policy recommendations that will integrate tourism issues into the post-pandemic economic recovery plan and as a strong sector in the face of global challenges.¹

Moreover, For 2023, the Minister for Tourism and the Creative Economy has set performance targets for the tourism and creative economy sectors, namely international tourist visits from 3.4 million to 7.4 million, domestic tourist movements from 1.2 billion to 1.4 billion, an increase in the Travel and Tourism Development Index (TTDI) ranking between 29 and 34, and a tourism workforce target of 21.93 million and a creative economy workforce target of 22.59 million.²

Meanwhile, the beach at Sawarna is filled with rubbish. Household and forest waste is floating down the Cisawarna River and there are fears that it could contaminate the river and beach water. A joint effort is needed between tourism managers and the community to clean up the river and coastal areas.³

As mentioned above, this study explores the challenges and gap of sustainable coastal tourism on Sawarna beach. Bear in mind that there is no researcher who carried out the analysis.

This mixed-methods research⁴ was conducted on the island's Sawarna beach (Figure 1) in October 2021 - 2022. The study involved 200 respondents, 160 of whom provided consistent assessments of the challenges of sustainable tourism on the coast.⁵ All data was tabulated using SAS software with a content analysis approach.⁶ Consistent responses of at least 61% are evaluated based on the Kappa (K) value,⁷ where this value indicates a performance that meets the requirements if K > 0.6 and vice versa if it does not meet the criteria K < 0.6.⁸

Figure 1 Sawarna Coastal Tourism (in red): Latitude DMS: 6°50'29.5"S, Longitude DMS: 106°18'56.5"E.²³

This study consisted of two sections: Firstly, to assess the present performance of the beach. Secondly, conducting two sessions of focus grouped discussion. Firstly, to develop same pointed of view of sustainable coastal tourism (SCT).⁹ Secondly, to validate consistency of their judgment on the goal of SCT.¹⁰

The respondent consisted: Staff of Department of Culture-Tourism, Tourism Ministry staff, Central Bureau - Statistics, the Development Planning Agency at Sub-National Level, and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). Besides, Tour Operator, Foreign tourists and tourists, Hotel - Restaurant Association, Tours and Travel Agencies, Coastal community leaders, Craftsmen, and a number of local communities included.

Sustainable tourism evolves over time.¹¹ It is the development of a tourism concept that can have short- and long-term impacts, ranging from economic and environmental impacts to socio-cultural and environmental management policies for coastal or cultural tourism.¹² In an effort to develop sustainable tourism, environmental management is prioritized from an economic and environmental perspective in a sustainable manner.¹³ Cultural preservation efforts are always developed and maintained so as to have a negative or minimal impact on the environment.¹⁴ This trend of sustainable tourism strives to become a tourist activity that is in great demand by tourists both in ordinary activities, routine or during holidays.¹⁵

Sustainable coastal tourism prioritizes coastal tourism activities that conserve coastal natural resources,¹⁶ while involving and empowering local communities to improve their economic well-being.¹⁷ They are directly involved in the management of coastal tourism activities and infrastructure development,¹³ which is key to the success of this destination.¹⁶ With the full support of local government and the Department of Tourism, these tourism activities prioritize the empowerment of coastal communities to participate in the exploitation of their natural potential.¹⁷

However, the development of sustainable coastal tourism aims¹⁸ to: (1) Maintain and seek to adapt environmental policies. Sustainable tourism development is programmed to prevent damage to the coastal environment caused by coastal tourism activities or activities.¹⁹ (2) Manage the coastal environment for environmentally friendly coastal tourism activities.²⁰ (3) Support tourism activities that contribute to the economic development of coastal communities.²¹ Sustainable use of coastal natural resources in this area with the aim of providing economic benefits to coastal communities.¹⁸ Coastal tourism has an the environment impact of the region and promotes local wisdom values.²²

The results of data collection and tabulation (Table 1) show that the performance of Sawarna coastal sustainable tourism (SCST) almost meets the requirements (Kappa = 0.578). It seems the efforts to become priority.

Currently, tourism management prioritizes coastal resources. Meanwhile, there seems to be a lack of attention to policies that support the environmental management of coastal tourism. This is evident in the lack of attention given to environmentally sound coastal management.

The tabulation results of the 2nd session of the FGD session identified expectations for the management of the SCST (Table 2) that need some improvement. This improvement is in terms of priorities for the management of sustainable coastal tourism and regulatory reform in the management of the coastal environment.

The results of the tabulation of the two conditions are indicators of the gap in the challenges of SCST management in achieving sustainable coastal tourism management (Table 3). It appears that there is a need to improve the management of SCST that are oriented towards the natural environment. In addition, there is still a need to renew coastal management policies for tourism purposes.

The results of the challenge gap table show the situation in the future. In addition to the SCST's sustainability efforts, we analyse the coastal fauna. This requires a more environmentally friendly approach to coastal tourism management, by limiting the number of tourists in the form of tourist quotas. Wild animals such as the green peacock Pavo muticus, the Javan bull (Bos javanicus) and various bird species, the Timor deer (Timorensis), long-tailed monkeys and wild boars still roam the area. A special interest tour package of about a week to see the Javan rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus) is the right choice. There are also Javan gibbons (Hylobates moloch), suri (Presbytis aigula) and coyotes (Cuon alpinus javanicus), langurs (Presbytis cristata), slow lorises (Nycticebus coucang) and long-tailed monkeys (Macaca fascicularis), wild boars (Sus scrofa), deer (Muntiacus muntjak) and porcupines (Tragulus javanicus).

Use From the seaside, the common vegetation found is mangroves (Rhizophora spp.), Sonneratia alba and Bruguiera spp, Avicenia spp and Nypa fruticans. Coastal forests are generally characterized by the presence of species Calophyllum innophyllum, Barringtonia asiatica, Hemandia peltata, Terminalia catappa, and Pongamia pinnata.

Furthermore, around the mangroves on this beach there are Scatophagus argus fish including marine fish tribes (Scatophagidae), red coral (Tubifora musica), green turtles (Chelonia mydas). Several types of consumption fish are important, namely fish that have a high selling value including Epinephelus sexfasciatus, Lutjanus sp., and Siganus guttatus, Epinephelus sexfasciatus known for its potential grouper fish.

In addition, there are lagoons, coral reefs and coastal lowland mangrove forests that can only tolerate minimal use from tourism activities. This was created to maintain populations of key species that breed on the SCST's coral reefs. The most common type of coral found was the Acropora type of branching growth type, the number of Acropora branching found was due to Acropora. While, the least found are Goniastrea, Concinarea, Astreopora, Pavona and Seriatophora.

Finally, addressing the need for environmental policy reform in coastal zone management requires coordination and synergy between stakeholders. The result is an agreement between them on the future management of coastal tourism that is more respectful of the coastal environment. In this way, it is hoped that the natural coastal landscape will be preserved.

The main challenge in managing ecotourism at Sawarna Beach is to balance the conservation of the coastal environment with the activities of tourists. They should be given directions or tips on how to get there. It needs an effort to minimize the destructive impact of their tourism activities. The first priority is to update coastal tourism management policies by empowering local communities to protect and conserve the environment of coral reefs and tourist destinations. If the management policy supports efforts to conserve the natural coastal environment, it will certainly have a positive impact on the quality of these tourist destinations. These efforts can reduce the challenges of managing coastal tourism on the beach.

Considering that this research only focuses on reducing the management challenge gap, there are still opportunities for further research in waste management and job creation and efforts to build the regional economy by empowering people living along the coast.

The author would like to thank the anonymous reviewers and those who have helped in reviewing this paper to make it even better. On this auspicious occasion, the author also expresses his highest appreciation to the Editorial Board who fully supported the publication of this paper.

Author declares there are no conflicts of interest.

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