PERCEPTION AND ECONOMIC VALUATION OF WAY BELERANG TOURISM IN THE WAY PISANG FOREST MANAGEMENT UNIT (KPH) USING THE TRAVEL COST METHOD

Visitor perceptions and the economic value of tourism greatly influence sustainable tourism development. The aim of the research is to identify visitor perceptions and calculate the economic value of Way Belerang tourism in KPH Way Pisang. Data collection was carried out using interviews, literature studies and documentation. The data that has been collected is then analyzed using a Likert scale, Zonal Travel Cost Method (ZTCM), Individual Travel Cost Method (ITCM) and Multiple Linear Regression. The research results show that the assessment of visitors' perceptions of the facilities is good. Existing facilities are adequate, but repairs need to be made to the ceiling in the rinse area. Promotion and information are not very good because there is not yet complete media available. The tourist attractions are good, the natural attractions and the tourist atmosphere are very supportive. Security and comfort are good, the parking area is large and the guard posts are manned by officers. The average cost to travel to Way Belerang Tourism is IDR 58,876/person/visit, so the economic value of Way Belerang Tourism is IDR 939,725,328/year. Comparison of travel costs based on the visitor's zone of origin within the district Rp. 23,083/zone/visit times, outside the district Rp. 55,195/zone/visit times and outside the province Rp. 114,545/zone/visit times. Supporting promotion and information on Way Belerang requires adequate tools for promoting tourist attractions so that the tourist attractions are more visited by visitors and improving the facilities available at Way Belerang.


INTRODUCTION
Tourism is the sector that contributes the country's largest foreign exchange (Widyarini and Sunarta, 2018) and is being developed in various regions including Lampung Province (Sari et al, 2015).According to Law No. 10 of 2009, which explains that tourism is a variety of tourism development activities or businesses supported by various facilities and services provided by the community, entrepreneurs, the Government and Regional Government.Law No. 10 Article 1 of 2009 concerning tourist attractions is everything that has beauty and value in the form of a diversity of natural riches.In line with research by Wawan (2011) and Siahaan (2022) that anything that has a high attractiveness can become a destination for tourists to a certain area.A tourist attraction can develop and be used as a tourist destination by tourists depending on the perception or assessment tourists give to the tourist attraction.Usefulness, satisfaction and pleasure are other accepted terms that connote value or price.From these observations by individuals, individuals will gain and have experience with objects, so they can provide conclusions and interpretations of tourist objects.In line with Lalika's (2020) research, visitor perceptions can be used as a reference in developing an ecotourism object.
Visitor perception is an opinion or impression about the experience expressed by an individual regarding an object that is a stimulus that is captured using the five senses.Tourists will visit again if their needs and desires are met (Ghanapala, 2015).According to Latiff & Imm (2015), tourist satisfaction has a significant influence on the desire to return to tourist locations.This is one of the factors that supports the development of the tourism sector.The experiences they have experienced can be used as a reference in perceiving something.To support the development of the tourism sector, managers as stakeholders who wish to preserve inventory and develop tourism resources need to pay attention to tourism resource development strategies by taking into account the desires and expectations of visitors and surrounding communities to achieve existing sustainable tourism.Management is carried out in a sustainable manner involving local communities to improve the family and regional economy.Economic valuation is carried out to determine the economic value of natural tourism service providers who can help the community in increasing tourist attractions so that the number of tourist consumption increases.
Economic valuation is an effort to provide a quantitative value for goods or services produced by natural resources and the environment.This valuation is an effort to assess economic benefits, which is usually applied in the context of natural resource management, where an economic approach is used to assess the real price of goods and services.To analyze the demand for outdoor recreation, you can use the travel cost method.The Travel Cost Method is a travel cost approach used to see the benefits that people get from using environmental goods and services and to describe people's willingness to pay for goods and services obtained from the environment (Handayani et al, 2021, Fauzi, 2004).With this method, you can find out the factors that influence tourists.
The economic impact and visitor perceptions are among factors that can influence tourists' interest in visiting.Visitors' perceptions will influence visitors' interest in returning to the tourist spot with the satisfaction they get from traveling.The principle of this method examines the costs incurred by each individual to visit recreational places.With this method, you can find out the factors that influence tourists to visit.The aim of the research is to analyze visitor perceptions and the economic value of Way Belerang tourism in KPH Way Pisang.

METHOD
This research was carried out in October -November 2022.This research took place in Way Belerang, Sukamandi Kalianda Village, South Lampung,KPH Way Pisang.Research conductedusing quantitative methods with techniques collection data by observation, observations and questionnaires.Respondents (visitors) were determined using the Slovin formula, totaling 93 people selected randomly by accidental sampling.Data related to public perception is processed using a Likert scale with the indicators used covering several aspects, namely the availability of tourist facilities, tourism promotion and information, tourist attractions and tourist safety and comfort.Economic value data, zoning comparisons and individual travel costs are determined using the travel cost method and will be analyzed descriptively quantitatively with multiple linear regression.According to Horald Hotelling (1931) the economic value of tourism using the travel cost method can be calculated using the following formula: Calculating the average cost of a visitor's trip to the Way Belerang tourist attraction uses the formula as below (Clawson, 1959;Ekwarso, 2010): The economic value of a tourist attraction can then be determined from the average travel cost of visitors which is then multiplied by the total number of visitors for one year (Knetsch, 1966;Siregar, 2010).

A. General Location Conditions
KPH Way Pisang Gunung Rajabasa, Way Pisang and Batu Serampok have the potential to be developed.Nature tourism is focused on the preservation and beauty of nature.There are several tourist attractions that are used as natural tourist destinations in South Lampung, such as Curug Layang Waterfall, Curug Waterfall, Way Kalam Waterfall, Pangkul Sukaraja Waterfall, Canti Waterfall, Kecapi Waterfall and Way Belerang Simpur.Sukamandi Hot Springs and Belerang Hot Springs (KPH Way Pisang, 2015).Optimal management of natural tourism sites will produce sustainable results and benefits if an assessment of the site's potential and attractiveness is carried out first.This assessment leads to competent planning.Factors that influence natural tourism development plans are human resource, environmental, feasibility and financial/budget factors (Setiyono, 2012)  The KPH Way Pisang area has rare potential, namely geothermal energy.Utilization of geothermal resources is expected to contribute to Regional Original Income (PAD) and improve community welfare.The geothermal source is located in the utilization zone so it can be used as an environmentally friendly energy source.The Way Sulfur hot spring also has mineral potential in the form of sulfur.Sulfur is a substance that is widely known to be efficacious in curing various skin diseases such as tinea versicolor, ringworm, eczema ringworm, itching, and others.The existence of way sulfur also has great potential as a mining mineral material, in addition to its existence as a tourist location for hot springs and sulfur baths (KPH Way Pisang, 2014).With government assistance in managing tourist attractions, regional income and regional community income can be increased.
The name Way Belerang in Lampung means sulfur water.The source of the sulfur water comes directly from the bottom of the pool, there is also a water source that flows directly from Mount Rajabasa Kalianda, south Lampung.In this hot spring there is a large and spacious swimming pool.The water will emit puffs of smoke, a sign that it is hot enough inside.Way Belerang is located in Kalianda, South Lampung.This location can be reached in two hours from the city center of Bandar Lampung.The road conditions are very wide and adequate, easy to reach by various types of vehicles.The route to Way Belerang is simply by following the Sumatra route which leads to Kalianda, South Lampung.The entrance ticket price for this natural bathing tourist destination is not that expensive.The special rate for children is only IDR 10,000 per person and IDR 15,000 per person for adults.Apart from issuing entrance ticket accommodation, visitors also pay for parking according to the type of vehicle.

B. Perceptions of Way Belerang Tourism Visitors
A visitor's preference is an opinion or impression about an individual's experience of an object that is a stimulus that is captured using the five senses.The experiences they have experienced can be used as a reference in perceiving something.According to Rakhmat (2013), perception is someone who makes good observations of objects, events/relationships which ends with inferences and interpretations.From these observations by the individual, the individual will gain satisfaction and have experience with the object, from this experience the individual provides conclusions and interpretations of the tourist attraction.Visitor satisfaction is an important factor that must be considered in the natural tourism planning component.Satisfaction ratings can influence tourists' desire to visit again and promote tourist attractions to others.Important components in developing a tourist destination are aspects of amenities and accessibility.These two aspects are closely related to a person's comfort when traveling, in the sense of providing facilities and infrastructure as well as guaranteeing safety for tourists.Tourist facilities are the completeness of a tourist destination area that is needed to serve the needs of tourists in enjoying their tourist trip.Meanwhile, infrastructure can be divided into accommodation infrastructure and supporting infrastructure (Weblianar et al, 2018).Tourist destinations that are visited by many tourists are considered attractive and have available facilities.The assessment of visitors to the Way Belerang Tourism in several aspects is considered adequate so that many visitors return.From visitor assessments, Way Belerang visitor perception data was obtained which can be seen in Figure 2. Visitors' perceptions of aspects based on facilities are divided into seven, namely parking areas, places of worship, places to eat, places to rinse, trash cans, roads to tourist attractions, and directions.The average perception of visitors regarding aspects based on the Way Belerang facilities in Suka Mandi Village is 69.27% of the opinion "Good".The perception of Way Belerang respondents regarding the perception of parking is that parking is available at Way  2018), tourist satisfaction can be seen from the quality of service which influences their desire to make a return visit.This is supported by Ravichandran (2010), that the higher the service, the higher the level of satisfaction.Service quality is also related to the provision of facilities.Providing adequate facilities, both in quantity and quality, will influence tourist satisfaction and interest in subsequent tourist visits.
Apromotional specs and visitor perception information are divided into two, namely promotional activities and information supporting facilities.The average perception of visitors regarding aspects based on Way Belerang promotion and information in Suka Mandi Village is 46.77% with the opinion "Good".Way Belerang promotional activities are good but there is still a lack of promotional activities using media.The promotion process can be carried out using various media, such as print media, electronic media, or exhibitions.Facilities supporting Way Belerang tourism promotion are good but there is still a lack of supporting tools or media.It is important for promotional support facilities to be carried out using various media, such as print media, electronic media, and exhibitions.The more numerous and complete promotional activity facilities will add to the tourist attraction for visiting.
Tourist attractions are divided into ten, namely water quality, water turbidity, water clarity, water aroma, pool quality, free from rubbish, water availability, road or pool floor, pool availability and water views.The average perception of visitors regarding aspects based on the Way Belerang tourist attraction in Suka Mandi Village is 67.09% of the opinion "Good".The water quality is good, the Way Sulfur hot spring is included in water quality class II because it is a water recreation infrastructure or facility.The turbidity of the water is considered to be good because the turbidity is not so cloudy that you cannot see the bottom of the pool.This indicates that the quality of the sulfur water is in the good quality category.The clarity of the water at the Way Belerang tourist attraction is not very clear, not very clear water indicates good water quality.The smell of the water is not so strong and is still environmentally friendly for visitors because most visitors think the smell can still be tolerated by the nose.The quality of the available pools is good, visitors assess the quality of the pools as good because there are different pool depths for children, teenagers and the elderly.
Way Belerang Tourism has a clean and environmentally friendly environment for visitors because there are cleaning staff to clean up rubbish around the pool and gazebo.The availability of water is sufficient for the volume of soaking water for visitors, both teenagers and adults.The road or floor is adequate for slippery and watery terrain.If you choose the wrong type of floor or the floor is damaged, it will endanger visitors when they want to rinse or change clothes.Availability of a pool to accommodate enough visitors for bathing so that visitors are not crowded together.Way Belerang tourism has natural beauty that is still pristine for visitors to refresh.Trees with dense canopy classes can influence temperatures so that they are cooler than those with other canopy classes.This is because the dense tree species class has a higher tree species density compared to other tree species.Solar radiation does not directly penetrate the earth's surface by touching the tops of trees.The Way Belerang tourist attraction has good cleanliness because there are adequate rubbish bins in every corner.According to Siregar, (2017) the availability of facilities at a tourist attraction is the readiness of a facility to be operational and can provide comfort to tourists.
The tourist attraction specs are divided into three, namely cleanliness of the place, security of the place and waiting room.The average perception of visitors regarding aspects based on the Way Belerang tourist attraction in Suka Mandi Village is 72.39% of the opinion "Good".The cleanliness of the Way Belerang tourist attraction is good, every time visitors return there will be officers who will clean up the rubbish and tidy up the shelter.Way Belerang Tourism has good site security, this can be seen from the availability of security and adequate parking.The availability of Way Belerang facilities has several pavilions or gazebos located around the pool.
The pavilion or gazebo is used as a waiting room for visitors who are not bathing.In the waiting room you can be assured because it will increase the feeling of trust, safety and calm when traveling.This is a factor for visitors to visit, if tourist attractions are not safe then visitors will tend not to visit again.Research by Stevianus (2014), Sulistiyana et al. (2015) and Weblianar et al. (2018) shows that tourist facilities have a positive and significant effect on tourist satisfaction.Apart from that, facilities are one of the important things for developing tourism.The availability of tourist facilities is very important in tourist destination areas.These tourist facilities must be provided by service providers for use and enjoyment by consumers with the aim of providing maximum levels of satisfaction.Muchlas (2018) and Wiradipoetra and Brahmanto (2016) argue that ecotourism facilities and services can support ecotourism activities.These facilities and services need to be improved, so as to provide satisfaction for tourists.The factor of damage to facilities due to lack of maintenance is considered to be a trigger for tourists' negative perceptions of tourist attractions, resulting in a lack of interest in visiting.In line with research (Khotimah et al, 2017, andDenadda, 2020) that fulfilling adequate accessibility factors will make it easier for visitors to visit the location.If visitor perceptions are low, it will cause dissatisfaction, so that visitors will not make return visits to the tourist location (Febryano and Rusita, 2018).Limited facilities and the number of visitors can be a challenge for the development of mangrove ecotourism, so there needs to be collaboration between the community and the local government (Setiawan et al., 2017).

C. Economic Value of Way Belerang Tourism
The total cost of travel can determine the economic value of a tourist environmental service, so the calculation is carried out after first knowing the average travel cost of visitors to tourist attractions (Safitridkk, 1996).To find out, the total travel costs for visitors to the Way Sulfur tourist attraction can be calculated from the visitor's zone of origin.The following are eight distance zones for visitors to Way Belerang in Table 1.Total travel costs The value of providing goods and services can be approximated by the consumer's willingness to pay (Djijono, 2002).The economic value of Way Belerang tourism services can be measured from the travel costs incurred by visitors to reach the tourist attraction (Tambunan, 2013).According to Sulistiyono (2007), the economic value of Way Belerang tourism calculates the travel costs for visitors to travel to Way Belerang using the following formula: Based on the results of this research with a total of 93 visitors, the costs incurred were IDR 5,475,500/visit, thus the economic value of tourism services in Way Belerang can be determined by the average travel cost.The number of visits to tourist attractions is divided by the number of visitors.
And to calculate the average travel cost for visitors to the Way Belerang tourist attraction, use the formula as below (Ekwarso, 2010): The economic value of a tourist attraction can then be determined from the average travel cost of visitors which is then multiplied by the total number of visitors for one year (Siregar, 2010).
Total Economic Value = Average Travel Cost x Number of Visits Year Total Economic Value = IDR 58,876 x 15,961 Total Economic Value = IDR 939,725,328/year.So that the total economic value of the Way Belerang Tourism is obtained IDR 939,725,328/year.Average travel costs Determining the economic value of tourism services is carried out after first knowing the average travel costs for visitors to tourist attractions.To find out the average cost of a visit, the total travel cost for visitors to the Way Belerang tourist attraction is known to be IDR 5,475,500 divided by the number of respondents of 93 people.Thus, the average travel cost incurred by visitors to the Way Belerang tourist attraction is IDR 58,876 / person / visit and the indicator that influences the amount of travel costs is the tourist destination of the visitor's residence or residence.So the economic value of the Way Belerang tourist attraction is IDR 939,725,328.The following is the average distance zoning cost for visitors to Way Belerang in Figure 2. The average travel cost from the visitor's zone of origin, namely the zone within the district, is IDR 23,083/zone/visit, the zone outside the district or zone within the province is IDR province with a value of IDR 114,545/zone/visit.In line with research by Sihotang (2014) and Hartati (2021) which states that the further away the visitor's area of origin, the higher the travel costs.The following is the average cost of visitors per area of origin for Way Belerang visitors in Figure 3. Travel costs based on area of origin/zoning for visitors are the smallest from South Lampung Regency at IDR 23,083/zone/visit, while the largest is from East Ulu Regency, Palembang Province at IDR 137,000/zone/visit.These costs are because the farther the visitor's area of origin results in higher travel expenses (Sihotang, 2014).Zulpikar et al. (2017) revealed that the cost of traveling to a tourist location greatly influences a person's decision to travel to a tourist destination.
In this research, to calculate the economic valuation using the Individual Travel Cost Method, namely by calculating the individual's economic value per year.The regression results between the dependent variable number of visits to Way Belerang (Y) and the independent variable travel costs for Way Belerang Tourism (X1) produce a visit demand model which will then be used to calculate the value of consumer surplus.The results of the economic evaluation of tourism services can flow into development.Form of service by Tourist Facilities Management (Fauzi, 2014).From the results of the t test, it is clear that Sig < Alpha, namely 0.000 < 0.005, which means that H0 is rejected, in other words travel costs have a significant effect on tourist visits to Way Sulfur.Then, for the results of the regression model, the value of 1,495 shows that travel costs influence visits to Way Belerang.And the value 3,823 shows that travel costs are fixed, so that every increase in travel frequency by 1 visit will increase travel costs by 3,823.To find out the benefits of visiting a tourist attraction, you can calculate the consumer surplus value.Fauzi (2004) states that consumer surplus is obtained by dividing the number of visits squared by twice the travel cost factor.In this study there were 93 respondents who were used to calculate the value of consumer surplus.The data in Table 3 shows an example of calculating the value of consumer surplus.Then, by averaging the results of calculating the number of visits by consumers/individuals/surplusof 93 respondents, the results obtained were a surplus in the number of visits by consumers/individuals as a result of multiple regression analysis using the travel cost method of IDR 445,803/individual/visit.From the results of the consumer surplus, it was found that the profits obtained by consumers, namely visitors to the Way Belerang Water Tour, were still far above the average expenditure price of IDR 58,876/visit (amount of expenditure/number of visits).From this it can be concluded that visitors or tourists enjoy environmental benefits that are greater than the travel costs that must be incurred to go to Way Belerang.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Visitors' perception regarding the facility aspects is 69.23% "Good" because it is available and the facilities provided are fulfilled.For the promotion and information aspect, 46.77% is "Good", but there is still a lack of supporting facilities for promotion so that Way Belerang tourism can be introduced to the wider community.Aspects of tourist attraction 67.09% "Good, good environmental conditions and cleanliness conditions, both water, pool environment and tourism, a place to rinse with permanent floors and walls, availability of rubbish bins and picket officers to clean and tidy up places where visitors used to stop , there is a gate or directional signs to direct visitors to the Way Belerang tourist attraction and the road to the tourist attraction is quite good and will not cause traffic jams.For security and comfort aspects, 72.39% is "Good" because there are guard posts and adequate parking to accommodate visitors.Comparison of the average cost of travel based on the visitor's zone of origin based on zones within the district of Rp. 23,083/zone/time visited, from zones outside the district or zones within the province it is Rp.55,195/zone/time visited, and zones outside the province are Rp.114,545/zone/ times of visit.Based on the travel cost method, the average cost incurred for a trip to the Way Belerang Hot Springs is IDR 58,876/person/visit, so the economic value obtained from the Way Belerang Tour is IDR 939,725,328/year.To support the large economic value obtained each year, promotional support and information available on Way Belerang is needed to promote tourist attractions so that the tourist attraction is visited by more visitors and improvements to the facilities available at Way Belerang.Facilities, promotions and information, tourist attractions and security and comfort will be important aspects in visitor perceptions.This percentage of visitor ratings at Way Belerang indicates that the provision of adequate facilities, both in quantity and quality, will influence tourist satisfaction and interest in subsequent tourist visits.

Figure 3 .
Figure 3. Graph of Average Visitor Costs Based on Zones.

Figure 4 .
Figure 4. Graph of Average Zone Visitor Costs Per Region.
. Rajabasa and Bakauheni Regencies, South Lampung Province.The KPH Way Pisang area covers 5,160 ha, with details of 176 ha being primary forest, 3.18 hectares being secondary forest, and 1,836 ha being non-forest (KPH Way Pisang, 2014).The boundaries of the Rajabasa KPHL area are:• borders the Java Sea to the east, • borders Betung Bay to the west, • borders South Lampung Province to the north, • borders the Sunda Strait to the south.
Sulfur in good condition and sufficient for the needs (accommodating vehicles) of visitors.Places of worship are available at Way Belerang in good condition and sufficient for the worship needs of visitors, however the flow of ablution water tends to be small.There are many places to eat at Way Belerang, the buildings are clean and in good condition and meet your needs, but the ceiling needs to be repaired.The rinsing area available at Way Sulfur is good and sufficient to accommodate visitors who want to change clothes and wash their bodies (shower) but the ceiling needs to be repaired and the walls are peeling again.The availability of rubbish bins at Way Belerang is good and sufficient to accommodate visitors' rubbish, but there are still many visitors who lack awareness of throwing rubbish in the right place because of the presence of cleaning staff.The road to the Way Belerang tourist attraction is good, there are no significant potholes so there are no obstacles or serious traffic jams.And finally, the road directions to the tourist attraction are available in fairly good condition and visible to visitors.Directions can help first-time visitors not to go the wrong way.According to Ababneh (2013); Rosita et al. (2016); Wiratini et al. (

Table 1
55,195/zone/visit, and the zone outside the province is IDR 114,545/zone/visit.Based on research data, it is known that the largest travel costs are obtained from zones outside the Travel Cost Regression Test Results are in Table 2.

Table 2 .
Travel Cost Regression Test Results