Tourism Communication in the Development of Mangrove Ecotourism in Coastal Areas: Experiences of Ecotourism Communication in Bengkalis District – Indonesia

Abstract

Mangrove ecosystem damage is one of the concerns in the framework of state policy. The Indonesian government pays special attention to cases of mangrove ecosystem damage and encourages various parties to be involved in maintaining peat ecosystems, including making mangroves a tourist area. Guided by the Ecotourism Framework (Pederson, 1991 in Ross & Wall, 1999), this study aims to explore the potential of Mangrove Forest as an ecotourism area in Bengkalis Regency in Indonesia from a tourism communication perspective. Based on two focus group discussions followed by eight in-depth interviews with stakeholders, this study found that the Bengkalis mangrove area, especially Bukit Batu, has the potential to become an attractive ecotourism area because the area (i) has a mangrove forest that is well-preserved so that it becomes a very valuable asset for environmental education; (ii) mangrove forests provide home products as economic benefits for the community; and (iii) the readiness of the local community to promote and communicate the Bengkalis mangrove area, especially Bukit Batu, as a tourist destination. However, the enthusiasm of the community to make the mangrove forest an ecotourism area has ignored the need to consider the carrying capacity of the area. They also consider mangroves one of the main economic benefits they should exploit on a large scale. Both elements are at odds with the ecotourism framework, which aims to protect the environment through income generation, environmental education, and community engagement while effectively promoting sustainable tourism.