Study of Marine Ecotourism Potential of Cingkuak Island West Sumatera Province

Abstract

Cingkuak Island is one of small islands in West Sumatera Province. Cingkuak Island has been selected as an area of marine tourism development by the local government of Pesisir Selatan Regency since 2002. The aim of the study was to assess the potential of Cingkuak Island as marine tourism destination, and analyzed its potential for marine ecotourism development. The method used in the research included survey method, data collection (primary and secondary). Purposive sampling method was used for interview and questionnaire, particularly for tourists has been used accidental sampling method. The result of the study showed that Cingkuak Island has a big potential for marine tourism destination and possesses a big chance to be developed into a marine ecotourism area. It has been measured by the suitability values of marine ecotourism development. The values are resulted through tourism supporting criteria, total scores of WTA and WTP, economic potential values, and SWOT analysis