GeoJournal of Tourism and Geosites Year XV, vol. 41, no. 2, 2022, p.393-399 ISSN 2065-1198, E-ISSN 2065-0817 DOI 10.30892/gtg.41208-842 http://gtg.webhost.uoradea.ro/ THE MANAGEMENT OF BANGSRING UNDERWATER AS CONSERVATION - BASED ECOTOURISM FOR INTERNATIONAL TOURISM DESTINATION Sumarmi SUMARMI * Universitas Negeri Malang, Faculty of Social Science, Geography Department, Malang, Indonesia, e-mail: sumarmi.fis@um.ac.id Aminatus Zuhro ENSIYAWATIN Universitas Negeri Malang, Faculty of Social Science, Geography Department, Malang, Indonesia, e-mail: ameezuhro@gmail.com I Komang ASTINA Universitas Negeri Malang, Faculty of Social Science, Geography Department, Malang, Indonesia, e-mail: komang.astina.fis@um.ac.id Elya KURNIAWATI Universitas Negeri Malang, Faculty of Social Science, Sociology Department, Malang, Indonesia, e-mail: elya.kurniawati.fis@um.ac.id Rajendra P. SHRESTHA School of Environment, Resources and Development, Asian Institute of Technology, Pathumtani, Thailand, e-mail: rajendra@ait.ac.th Citation: Sumarmi, S., Ensiyawatin, A.Z., Astina, I.K., Kurniawati, E., & Shrestha, R.P. (2022). THE MANAGEMENT OF BANGSRING UNDERWATER AS CONSERVATION-BASED ECOTOURISM FOR INTERNATIONAL TOURISM DESTINATION. GeoJournal of Tourism and Geosites, 41(2), 393–399. https://doi.org/10.30892/gtg.41208-842 Abstract: Bangsring Underwater site has high potential of ecotourism attraction for international tourists. The purpose of this study was to determine 1) the potential of Bangsring Underwater ecotourism based on attractions, accessibility, amenities, and 2) Bangsring underwater management as conservation-based ecotourism for the international tourist destination. The research design used qualitative descriptive methods. The primary data were obtained from observations and focus group discussions (FGD) with related parties, while secondary data obtained from government agencies, institutions, and communities in the Banyuwangi Regency. The data were analyzed using qualitative descriptive analysis. The results showed that Bangsring underwater has high potential in attractions, accessibility, amenities, and 2) the management of Bangsring underwater can make the place an ecotourism destination for international tourists. Furthermore, it is recommended that the alternative policies are needed to create conservation-based ecotourism for international tourist destinations. Key words: ecotourism, conservation-based, international tourist destinations * * * * * * INTRODUCTION The tourism industry is one of largest industrial economic sector in the world. World Travel and Tourism reported that in 2018 the tourism sector contributed to 10.4% of global GDP. The huge potential of tourism also makes a significant contribution to reducing poverty (Sumarmi et al., 2020a; Marlina et al., 2021). In several developing countries, tourism has proven as a solution to poverty issues (Eshun and Tichaawa, 2020). Tourism can also tremendously contribute to local and national economic development (Dilwan and Astina, 2019; Untari and Suharto, 2020; Atmodjo et al., 2019). The famous Indonesian tourism destination is Bali. Over time, tourism in Bali has experienced overload, so there are many attempts to find other destinations as new tourist centers. The search for "The Next Bali" will be beneficial for other areas of Indonesia with high tourism potential (Sumarmi et al., 2019). One of them is Banyuwangi, which is located and not far from Bali. Also, Banyuwangi has tourism potentials to be developed, such as Bangsring Underwater. In Banyuwangi regency, the total number of tourists has increased eight folds more in last 10 years compared to the situation of 2010 (Table 1). The majority (98%) are the local tourists, which exhibits not only changing social and recreative lifestyle but enormous implications on local economy from the tourism sector. Bangsring Underwater is located in Krajan, Bangsring Village, Wongsorejo District, Banyuwangi. The location is on the north coastline of Banyuwangi, about 1 km from the main highway, and can be reached within 45 minutes from Banyuwangi city. The coral reefs spreading across 15 hectares with rich marine life and natural conservation area serves as a special attraction for tourists. The attraction of the natural resources that is maintained in this tourist spot is the main attraction for tourists so that every year there is always an increase in the number of tourists (Sumarmi et al., 2020b). The increase in the number of tourists in Bangsring Underwater can be seen in Figure 1 below. International tourist destinations provide services for recreational and business purposes with international visitors (Montemayor et al., 2020; Untari and Suharto, 2020). Besides, international tourist destinations must also have high competitiveness with other world tourist destinations. The competitiveness of tourist destinations can be assessed using the * Corresponding author