Towards culturally sustainable scuba diving tourism: an integration of Indigenous knowledge

Abstract

Whilst there is an increasing literature about managing local Indigenous values in land-based settings for visitor experiences there is limited knowledge around how Indigenous values contribute to tourism development in marine environments. This paper explores how Indigenous knowledge and practices are integrated into scuba diving tourism development. In-depth face-to-face conversations with 49 Indigenous tourism stakeholders in Misool, Raja Ampat, Indonesia were conducted. Following narrative analysis, findings revealed five features of Misoolese knowledge and practices of the local communities: locating and attracting marine species, reading the signs of nature, respecting sacred sites, fish taboo, and marine sasi, a form of traditional marine resource management. The findings make a theoretical contribution as they explain how integrating Indigenous knowledge into successful tourism development can be achieved. It is argued that these Indigenous practices are instrumental for culturally sustainable tourism development in marine environments.