Daya dukung ekowisata Bontang Mangrove Park di Taman Nasional Kutai, Kalimantan Timur

Abstract

Bontang Mangrove Park (BMP) is part of the Kutai National Park area in Bontang City which is covered by magrove with an area of approximately 200 hectares. This area called BMP meaning that a mangrove forest area developed in Bontang city to function not only for recreational purposes but also for conservation, education and adventure purposes. Excessive levels of visits will certainly reduce the quality of an ecotourism area. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the carrying capacity of ecotourism in order to achieve sustainable management, so any types of tourism activity in the area should follow its carrying capacity. This research was conducted within the period of December 2019 to January 2020 with quantitative and qualitative data collected directly in the field and interviews with visitors, communities and managers. The quantitative analysis shows carrying capacity of the Bontang Mangrove Park area for the three activity places (boardwalk, visitor dock and campinf ground) are 433 persons per day, 123 persons per day and 1,102 persons per day, consecutively.