Sport Tourism Development and Its Socioeconomic Impact in West Lombok Regency, Indonesia

Abstract

West Lombok Regency, with its coastal destinations of Sekotong and Senggigi, holds remarkable potential as a sport tourism hub in Indonesia. Yet despite its natural richness, empirical evidence on how participants actually experience and evaluate sport tourism in this region remains scarce. This study aims to assess participant perceptions of sport tourism development quality and its perceived socioeconomic impacts on local communities, as well as to examine whether these two dimensions are meaningfully related. Data were collected from 224 respondents who had confirmed direct experience participating in sport tourism activities in West Lombok. A structured questionnaire was used, covering fifteen indicators organized into two areas: the quality of sport tourism development spanning infrastructure, facilities, accommodation, information access, government support, community involvement, safety, and overall satisfaction and the socioeconomic impacts of sport tourism, including its contributions to environmental awareness, public health, local employment, economic opportunity, and cultural preservation.
Findings reveal that participants hold strongly positive views across all aspects of both development and impact. The natural scenic beauty of West Lombok stands out as the destination's most celebrated strength, earning near-universal appreciation among respondents. Participants also broadly agree that sport tourism generates meaningful benefits for local communities, particularly in preserving local culture and fostering environmental stewardship. Notably, a strong relationship was found between development quality and perceived community impact suggesting that improving the sport tourism experience directly translates into greater community benefit. Government support and infrastructure, while still rated positively, emerged as the areas most in need of improvement. This study concludes that West Lombok possesses genuine and significant competitive advantages for sport tourism development, anchored by its exceptional natural environment. To fully realize its potential, the local government is encouraged to prioritize infrastructure development, strengthen community-based planning, establish a regular sport event calendar, and integrate environmental conservation principles into all tourism activities. These steps will not only enhance the visitor experience but also ensure that sport tourism delivers lasting, inclusive benefits for the people of West Lombok.