Dimension of Environmental Protection within Sustainable Tourism Development Policies in West Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia

This is a research article that aims to confirm and assert that tourism development in the Province of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) aligns with the concept of sustainable tourism development, focusing specifically on the aspect of environmental protection within the regulatory policy framework. The research was conducted at both normative and implementational levels to analyze the tourism development policies in NTB, focusing on how sustainable tourism development principles manifest and meet environmental protection aspects. Thus, this work employed doctrinal-empirical research, which integrated normative legal analysis with empirical elements. The methodologies used include conceptual, statutory, and empirical approaches to discover the factual implementation of these policies. Primary data sources comprise legislation, policies, and strategic planning documents for tourism development in NTB, while secondary data include relevant academic literature and data related to policy implementation obtained from documents, archives, and evaluation reports. Data are collected and analyzed through literature and policy reviews with a descriptive-qualitative method. The findings indicated that tourism development policies and strategies in NTB province seem to align with sustainable tourism principles. However, the focus of programs, strategies, and achievement indicators remains largely on economic growth, with limited emphasis on environmental protection at the policy and action level.