Collaborative Governance of Border Tourism in Sota District, Merauke

I Made Arie Widyasthana Wartana Putra; Catur Wahyudi; Sukardi Sukardi; Bonaventura Ngarawula; Ayu Nadirah; Alya Novalyana Risanti

doi:10.15408/jisi.v6i1.53158

Authors

I Made Arie Widyasthana Wartana Putra University of Merdeka Malang https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7257-6998
Catur Wahyudi University of Merdeka Malang https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1560-9604
Sukardi Sukardi University of Merdeka Malang https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9773-1093
Bonaventura Ngarawula University of Merdeka Malang https://orcid.org/0009-0000-0932-7331
Ayu Nadirah University of Merdeka Malang
Alya Novalyana Risanti University of Merdeka Malang

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15408/jisi.v6i1.53158

Keywords:

Border tourism, collaborative governance, Cross border - tourism governance, Local economic empowernment, Sota

Abstract

Border tourism can connect territorial symbolism, cross-border mobility, local identity, and local economic development, but these benefits depend on coordination across institutions with different mandates. This study explains how collaborative governance shapes border tourism development in Sota District, Merauke, on the Indonesia-Papua New Guinea border. A qualitative single-case study draws on one documented FGD at PLBN Sota on 31 October 2024 (about 130 minutes), field observation and survey material from a 2024 government-university study, signed tourism datasets, and policy and planning documents. FGD evidence was anonymized with role-based codes and analyzed manually using a theory-driven thematic matrix. Findings show that border identity is both an incentive and an institutional complication: it creates destination and market value while connecting tourism to border management, village governance, infrastructure, conservation, and community livelihoods. Collaboration appears through participatory discussion, cross-sector coordination, market/community involvement, promotion, and training, but is only partly institutionalized. Facilitative leadership is distributed across tourism authorities, border management, and local actors. WebGIS, master planning, infrastructure, capacity building, and multi-source financing are treated as project outputs or planned directions rather than consolidated outcomes. The study shows that peripheral border tourism requires bridging leadership and integrated vertical-horizontal coordination.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Ansell, C., & Gash, A. (2008). Collaborative governance in theory and practice. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 18(4), 543–571. https://doi.org/10.1093/jopart/mum032

Baburao, C., Talukder, M. B., Kalwad, A., & Thota, P. (2025). Techno-politics, tourism, and the transformation of the international political economy in the digital age (pp. 377–398). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/979-8-3373-1727-4.ch016

Barandiarán, X., Restrepo, N., & Luna, Á. (2019). Collaborative governance in tourism: lessons from Etorkizuna Eraikiz in the Basque Country, Spain. Tourism Review, 74(4), 902–914. https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-09-2018-0133

Blasco, D., Guia, J., & Prats, L. (2014). Emergence of governance in cross-border destinations. Annals of Tourism Research, 49, 159–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2014.09.002

Bramwell, B. (2011). Governance, the state and sustainable tourism: A political economy approach. In Journal of Sustainable Tourism (Vol. 19, Numbers 4–5, pp. 459–477). https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2011.576765

Liberato, D., Alén, E., Liberato, P., & Domínguez, T. (2018). Governance and cooperation in Euroregions: border tourism between Spain and Portugal. European Planning Studies, 26(7), 1347–1365. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2018.1464129

Luthfi, A., Putra, I. M. A. W. W., Roziqin, A., Naufal, M. F., Hidayat, A. R., & Widjaja, Y. A. (2023). Government’s Role in Managing Marine Tourism in Tanjung Bira Bulukumba Regency: Collaborative Governance Perspective. Jurnal Public Policy, 9(3), 183. https://doi.org/10.35308/jpp.v9i3.7543

Merauke Regency Tourism and Creative Economy Office. (2024). Data on Visits by Domestic and Foreign Tourists to Hotels and Tourist Destinations in Merauke Regency for the period 2017-202.

Merauke Regency Tourism and Creative Economy Office. (2024). Hotel, Lodging, Homestay and Tourist Attraction Data for 2024.

Merauke Regency Tourism Office, & Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, M. U. M. (2024). Final Report: Consultancy Services for the Study of the Development of a Strategic Pioneer Zone for the Development of Integrated Institutions for Tourism and Local Economy on the Merauke-PNG Border.

Metherall, N., De Fretes, D. R., Mandibondibo, F., & Caucau, T. (2022). Assessing the Development Impact of the Sota Border Post Connecting Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Papua Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations, 2(2), 95–122. https://doi.org/10.31957/pjdir.v2i2.2209

Park, J., Tse, S., Mi, S. D. B., & Song, H. (2022). A Model for Cross-border Tourism Governance in the Greater Bay Area. Journal of China Tourism Research, 18(6), 1259–1283. https://doi.org/10.1080/19388160.2022.2036664

Pugu, M. R., & Pusung, M. (2025). Socio-Economic Dynamics at the Border: A Case Study of the Sota, Merauke Cross-Border Post and Its Implications for Cooperation with Papua New Guinea. Journal of Social Research, 4(9). https://doi.org/10.55324/josr.v4i9.2782

Stoffelen, A., & Vanneste, D. (2018). The role of history and identity discourses in cross-border tourism destination development: A Vogtland case study. Journal of Destination Marketing and Management, 8, 204–213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2017.04.003

Valderrama, E.-L., & Polanco, J.-A. (2024). Understanding how collaborative governance mediates rural tourism and sustainable territory development: a systematic literature review. Tourism Recreation Research, 49(4), 888–904. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2022.2072653

Wang, J., & Lin, Q. (2025). Religious tourism, volunteering, and online footprints: an actor–network theory analysis. Current Issues in Tourism. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2025.2511999

Więckowski, M., & Timothy, D. J. (2021). Tourism and an evolving international boundary: Bordering, debordering and rebordering on Usedom Island, Poland-Germany. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 22, 100647. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2021.100647

Yin, R. K. (2018). Case Study Research and Applications: Design and Methods (6th ed.). Sage Publications.

Zhang, T., Chen, Y., Wei, M., & Dai, M. (2022). How to promote residents’ collaboration in destination governance: A framework of destination internal marketing. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 24, 100710. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2022.100710