The impact of the safety of passenger ship services on the development of water recreation: evidence from Indonesia

Abstract

This research aims to assess the safety of ship passenger services as one of the efforts to promote water recreation on the Musi River, South Sumatera. Rivers in Indonesia, through their role as a means of moving goods and people, greatly influence transportation and tourism, especially water recreation. Without safe transportation, there will be no travel and tourism industry. The accident rate of river transportation in Indonesia, including on the Musi River, today is still relatively high, and there still is no care about the assessment of riverboat services safety. The safety assessment was done with the analysis method using gap analysis with the analysis technique of Importance Performance Analysis. The research was conducted in Wharf 16 Ilir Palembang with a sample of as many as 264 people, including ship operators, passengers, and regulators. The study finds first that most users of riverboat services on the Musi River tend to be unsatisfied. Second, the need to improve the information on the safety equipment storage and the availability of safety equipment use instructions. Based on the findings, to develop water recreation on the Musi River, boat condition setting, and boat passenger safety are essential factors to be prioritized since the passengers or tourists mainly consider them in using sea transportation.