PERSEPSI WISATAWAN TERHADAP PRODUK WISATA DI GEOPARK MERANGIN JAMB

Nurlena, Prof. Dr. M. Baiquni, M.A.

2014 | Tesis | S2 Magister Kajian Pariwisata

Geopark Merangin Jambi (GMJ) dalam perjalanannya menuju Global Geopark Network (GGN), pengembangan wisata merupakan salah satu aspek yang penting, oleh karena itu penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisa persepsi wisatawan sebagai aktor utama dalam kegiatan wisata dengan menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif, data dikumpulkan dari 85 orang responden (sampel) melalui kuesioner, serta melalui wawancara dan observasi. Hasil analisa terhadap berbagai indikator persepsi wisatawan terhadap produk wisata di GMJ menunjukan bahwa Geopark Merangin Jambi memiliki kekayaan Geodiversity, Biodiversity, dan Cultural Diversity yang dimiliki relatif tinggi , bahkan beberapa diantaranya telah sedang dikembangkan menjadi objek wisata. Dari 4 aspek produk wisata Atraksi mendapatkan persepsi positif paling banyak, yaitu sebanyak 82%, ini berarti atraksi-atraksi yang ada sudah baik dan berhasil memuaskan wisatawan. Organisasi wisata/pengelola mendapat persepsi positif sebanyak 58% yang menandakan bahwa wisatawan cukup puas dan memerlukan perbaikan. Amenitas dan aksesibilitas mendapat persepsi negatif lebih banyak yang berarti masih diperlukan banyak perbaikan.

Merangin Jambi Geopark (MJG) is on his way to be the member of Global Geopark Network (GGN). In this case, tourism development becomes an important aspect. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the perception of tourists as the main actor in tourism activities by using a quantitative-qualitative approach by which the data were collected from 85 respondents (sample) through questionnaires as well as from interviews and observation. The analysis results of various indicators for the tourists’ perception of tourism products in MJG showed that the geopark has a relatively high potential for geodiversity, biodiversity and cultural diversity, even some of them have been being developed into tourist attractions. In addition, out of 4 aspects of tourism products, only attraction which gets the highest positive perception percentage (82%) meaning that the attractions are interesting enough and deserved to satisfy the visitors. Tourist organizations/managers get positive perception of 58%, which indicates that visitors are quite satisfied, but they need some improvement. Meanwhile, amenities and accessibility have more negative perception which indicates that the government should pay more attention on these two aspects.

Kata Kunci : Geopark, persepsi wisatawan, produk wisata