Community Perception of Geotourism Development in Ciletuh Palabuhanratu UNESCO Global Geopark

10.2478/bjlp-2023-00000161

Abstract

Ciletuh-Palabuhan Ratu Geopark is a protected area with a number of important geoheritage sites, and has a certain appeal and uniqueness, where it can be developed as part of an integrated concept of conservation, education and local economic growth. Since 2018 this area has been globally recognized by UNESCO, and was later named Ciletuh-Palabuhan Ratu UNESCO Global Geopark (CPUGGp). Geotourism is a kind of tourism development in a geopark, and its implementation requires local community involvement. Positive community perception would be a strong basis for them to involve in geotourism development. Therefore, this research sought to find the community perception of geotourism development in CPUGGp. Using descriptive method, questionnaire was its main instrument to collect primary data. The respondents were the residents of Tamanjaya Village, Ciemas District, Sukabumi Regency, which were chosen by applying multistage cluster sampling. The results showed that the community perception of geotourism development in their residential area was positive. A great knowledge and understanding of the geotourism development led to a high rating and made the people of Tamanjaya Village have a great will to involve in it firsthand. However, the community still needs government assistance in its implementation. In addition, training is still needed to improve public understanding of geotourism development and to create better skills.