Local community support towards creative tourism development of Mojokerto City, Indonesia / Daniel Budi Christiawan, Noorhaiza Masri

Tourism development is known for bringing both positive and negative impacts on the local community that influence their level of support towards future development. This research is conducted to assess the local community level of support towards creative tourism development in Mojokerto city. Utilizing Social Exchange Theory (SET), this paper examines the tourism impacts in Mojokerto city. SET framework mentioned that when tourism development benefits exceed its cost the local community will have a positive attitude towards tourism and will support further tourism development. Moreover, economic benefits, environmental impacts, and social support are the three variables used to quantify the level of support toward creative tourism development. A particular context was studied, that is, in the times of Covid19. A quantitative approach and stratified random sampling are applied and a total of 104 respondents were collected in 3 main districts namely Magersari, Prajurit Kulon, and Kranggan. A questionnaire containing 4 sections was distributed and descriptive statistics were utilized to analyze the data. The findings of this study reveal that creative tourism development in Mojokerto city has generated more positive impact than negative in all three variables. It is found that creative tourism plays an important role in economic development, leaving minimal environmental damage, and does not modify the local culture and lifestyle. Consequently, the local community of Mojokerto city has a high level of support towards creative tourism development. This study makes a significant contribution to the community’s perception and support for creative tourism, as well as practical implications in terms of future creative tourism development.