Community Participation in the Development of Ecotourism: A Case Study in Tambaksari Village, East Java Indonesia

The objective of the research was to identify the community participation in the development of ecotourism inTambaksari Village, East Java Indonesia. Results showed that there were obstacles of community participationin ecotourism development. The fundamental obstacles included community participation from planning, decision making and implementation stages. Most of the villagers in Tambaksari were not yet involved in the planning of ecotourism. There were only few villagers involved in the decision-making process. Moreover, not all villagers were involved in ecotourism activities. Ecotourism in Tambaksari, however, has been recognized toprovide benefits to local community. This research confirms that the development of ecotourism programs is able to promote infrastructure development and increase economic earnings. In term of ecotourism evaluation, this research confirms that the majority of the villagers has been involved in the evaluation of ecotourism activities. Results of the study indicate that community participation in ecotourism development in Tambaksari Village requires better improvement, particularly in the beginning of ecotourism development.