SWOT analysis in sport tourism development strategy in natural and cultural tourism destinations in Indonesia

Ristiawan, Bayu and Darza, Mulugeta Debebe and Sumarno, Sumarno and Erta, Erta and Puspita, Hapsari Shinta Citra and Pradana, Priya Yoga and Nikmah, Rahmawati Al Adha (2025) SWOT analysis in sport tourism development strategy in natural and cultural tourism destinations in Indonesia. World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 27 (1). pp. 1328-1336. ISSN 2581-9615

Indonesia has great potential to develop sports tourism due to its natural wealth, cultural diversity, increasing public interest in sports and a healthy lifestyle. However, the development of this sector still faces various challenges, such as limited infrastructure, lack of international promotion, and limited trained human resources. Through SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis, this study identifies key strengths such as tropical natural advantages and cultural heritage and opportunities in global trends towards physical activity-based tourism. The theoretical basis of this study is based on the theory referring to Patton's (2015) approach to qualitative research. This research design uses a qualitative descriptive approach, using secondary data relevant to the research objectives. Data collection involves reports consisting of 1. Internal strengths (Strengths): Natural resources, culture, infrastructure, local support, 2. Internal weaknesses (Weaknesses): Limited facilities, management, promotion, 3. External opportunities (Opportunities): Global sport tourism trends, government policies, digital technology, 3. External threats (Threats): Competition between destinations, environmental damage, dependence on seasonal events. The document samples analyzed were selected by purposive sampling and reduced to obtain the core of the main problems. Qualitative data were classified and mapped based on a combination of SWOT using the SWOT matrix to produce strategies: a. SO (leveraging strengths to take opportunities), b. ST (using strengths to overcome threats), c. WO (reducing weaknesses by leveraging opportunities), d. WT (avoiding threats by minimizing weaknesses). The findings of this study reveal that by improving infrastructure, stronger global promotion, and developing competent human resources, Indonesia can overcome external threats and become one of the leading destinations for sports tourism in the world. Collaboration between the government, private sector, and local communities will be the key to success in developing this sector sustainably.