Economic Empowerment-Based Communication Management in Rupat Utara Tourism Area

Abstract

Tourism is the world's largest service industry. Its growth creates social, economic and environmental changes so that understanding and thorough steps are required to manage it. Such changes push involvement of both local and regional communities in the tourism industry. Rupat Utara is a potential tourism area that can be managed in an integrated way to improve the ability and the economic prosperity of people independently. The purpose of this study is to provide practical recommendations to the tourism industry about the communication management model in empowering community economy in the tourism area. This study was conducted using qualitative descriptive method through the interactional communication model in accordance with the communication empowerment or participative approach. The data collection wasdone through observation and interviews as well as literature studies that contributed to the subject field of tourism communication development in the context of community economic empowerment in coastal areas.This study concludes that an integrated management model through the management of communication resources in various forms and contexts of effective communication can increase the community economic income independently. Communication management is accomplished through the process of using various communication resources through planning, organizing, implementing, and controlling the elements of communication in achieving the expected goals. Meanwhile, the forms of communication in achieving the objectives are adapted to the characters of the local community through various forms of socialization, assistance and counseling that have used information and technology media. Although the community have already realized that tourism has potential to improvetheir economy independently, but it still has not been done well, so that there is still chance for improvement based on the integrated development approach.

Keywords: Management, Communication, Tourism, Community Empowerment