The role of ecocultural communication, dialogue, and collective action in the sustainability of mangrove ecotourism

Mangrove ecotourism on the coast of Jakarta Bay has a strategic role as a flood barrier and conservation area. The coverage of mangrove ecotourism has drastically decreased due to human activities that have turned mangrove forests into residential, industrial areas, and fish ponds. To preserve its role, the sustainability of mangrove ecotourism must be maintained. Although studies on the sustainability of mangrove ecotourism are abundant, empirical research examining the influence of ecocultural communication, dialogue, and collective action is rare. This research, therefore, serves as one of the first attempts to investigate the influence of these three variables. This research aims to examine the effect of ecocultural communication, dialogue, and collective action on the sustainability of mangrove ecotourism around Jakarta Bay coastal area. This research employed a quantitative approach. The primary data collection method used was a questionnaire distributed to 166 respondents who were selected based on purposive sampling. The data were analysed based on PLS-SEM using Smart-PLS 3. The research found that there was a significant influence between ecocultural communication, represented by indicators of communication channels, socialisation, and local wisdom on dialogue. Simultaneously, there was a significant influence between ecocultural communication, dialogue, and collective action with the sustainability of mangrove ecotourism. This study reflects that the communication aspect has a major influence on sustainability. This research also has practical implications for the stakeholders of mangrove ecotourism to implement ecocultural communication, dialogue, and collective action to maintain its sustainability. Further research is needed to strengthen the model obtained using the mixed method approach.