EVALUASI PENGEMBANGAN EKONOMI KREATIF DALAM RANGKA MENDORONG SEKTOR PARIWISATA KOTA MERAUKE (STUDI KASUS DINAS PARIWISATA KOTA MERAUKE)

The creative economy is a sector that is now increasingly receiving attention in economic development, both at the national and international levels. In Indonesia, this sector is growing rapidly, covering various subsectors such as art, design, culinary, fashion, media, and tourism. On the other hand, Merauke City, as one of the cities in Papua Province, has various valuable natural and cultural potentials, but has not been fully utilized to develop its tourism sector. The purpose of this study is to determine the programs and achievements implemented by the Merauke City Tourism Office in developing a tourism-based creative economy and to determine the challenges faced by Merauke City in developing the tourism sector as part of the creative economy.
The approach used in this study is a qualitative approach. Qualitative research according to Bogdan and Taylor is a research procedure that produces descriptive data in the form of written or spoken words from people and observable behavior. Researchers are the main instruments in digging up data and information directly from sources through in-depth interviews, observations, and documentation. In this study, the data to be collected are in the form of interview transcripts, documentation (photos/videos), field notes, and official documents related to the creative economy development program in Merauke City.
The results of this study indicate that in order to encourage the growth of the creative economy sector in line with tourism development in the region, the Merauke City Tourism Office has designed and implemented a number of strategic programs. These programs are intended to empower local creative economy actors to be able to develop their businesses sustainably. Based on the results of the interview with Mr. Benhur Rentandatu, SE, the programs implemented do not only focus on providing assistance, but also include the process of identifying business actors, increasing human resource capacity, and facilitating product marketing. The Merauke City Tourism Office has determined and implemented a number of strategic programs in developing a tourism-based creative economy.