THE DESIGN OF LOCAL WISDOM-BASED ECOTOURISM DESTINATION IN KUPANG CITY

Abstract

Kupang is the right region for the ecotourism destination in NTT because it has three superior
perspectives i.e. first; ecotourism as a product (diverse natural and cultural resources), second;
ecotourism as a market; the products are produced by farmers, not only marketed to traditional
markets but also to domestic and international market, and third; ecotourism as a approach to
development, it needs cooperation among the government authorities, society and entrepreneurs to
develop the potential of local communities becoming the potential of ecotourism which is ready to
offered to the potential market. This research aims to formulate the implementation strategies of
local wisdom-based ecotourism destinations model using SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunity,
threat) analysis. Results of the study indicated that Kupang has diverse natural attractions such as
beach, mountain and culture that can be promoted as local wisdom-based ecotourism. The design of
the ecotourism development in Kupang City noticed the local wisdom which consist of two aspects,
tangible local wisdom and intangible local wisdom and they are grouped into similar industry in a
region. Varied industrial activity, called agglomeration, divided into 4 clusters ; education, culture,
environment and aesthetics. Recommendation from the result of this research was all attractions
that had been identified and most of them had not developed yet, needed to be noticed from the
government, private sector, NGOs, academics and society in creation of a sustainable tourism
development program.

Keywords: Ecotourism, Local wisdom-based, SWOT