ANALISIS PERMINTAAN WISATAWAN NUSANTARA OBJEK WISATA UMBUL SONGO, DESA KOPENG, KECAMATAN GETASAN, KABUPATEN SEMARANG

Abstract

Semarang Regency holds huge potential in tourism, including natural and spiritual tourism. Among the most well known tourist destination in Semarang is Umbul Songo waterfall, which is located in Kopeng tourism complex, Getasan Sub-district. Displaying panoramic view of Telomoyo, Andong and Merbabu Mountain, the location is only 54 km from Semarang city and 23 km from Salatiga city, making it one of the most accessible tourist spot in the region. The waterfall stands at 15 metres in height and is surrounded by pine forest of Merbabu National Park. In spite of its natural beauty and relatively easier access, the number of visitors is continually declining. High amount of people visiting Kopeng area and the newly built Semarang-Bawen toll road are expected to positively affect number of tourist visiting Umbul Songo, unfortunately that is not the case. The objectives of this research are: 1) Analyzing the factors that influence tourists’ decision to visit Objek Wisata Alam Umbul Songo; 2) Formulating the possible strategies than can be utilized to enhance the tourism value of Objek Wisata Alam Umbul Songo. Data used in this research is obtained with the means of interview and questionnaire. The respondents participated in the research are those who visited Objek Wisata Alam Umbul Songo as well as visitors of Objek Wisata Air Terjun Sekarlang, a nearby tourism spot that offers similar attraction values. The inclusion of Objek Wisata Air Terjun Sekarlang is to provide comparison needed in finding factors that influence tourists’ preferences Based on the analysis with logit methods, the main factors that affect visitors’ preferences to visit Objek Wisata Alam Umbul Songo are the visitors’ travelling budget, facilities provided by management, comforts, and the perception of natural beauty of the object. According to the analysis using Important Performance Analysis method, strategy that can be applied to increase the amout of visitors is by developing more infrastructures and comforts, which include improving cleanliness, security and tidiness as well as providing more rest rooms and road access in the area of Objek Wisata Alam Umbul Songo.