Many global development indicators show that tourism will play a bigger role in the coming years, making it the largest industry of this century. As a result, several countries are focusing their efforts on strengthening their economies.
Indonesia has a wide range of tourist destinations scattered throughout the country, ranging from beaches to highlands and lowlands, each with its own unique characteristics. Indonesian tourism itself is attractive to tourists due to several factors such as diverse history, culture from various ethnic groups, and a variety of culinary delights that can entice tourists. The diversity of tourist destinations in Indonesia is due to its geographical location as a tropical and archipelagic country, resulting in various natural beauties and wildlife that become tourist destinations.
One of the regions in Indonesia that is currently under development and has great potential in the tourism sector is Lampung Province. The richness of Lampung Province can be seen through the abundance of heterogeneous tourist attractions, including natural attractions, cultural arts, and history.
Being a province rich in natural tourism such as the Barisan Mountains in Sumatra, endemic flora and fauna, and a coastline facing the Indian Ocean, Lampung Province is required to maximize its natural tourism attractions. One of the regencies in Lampung Province that is included in the Regional Tourism Destination (DPD) of Lampung Province is Pesawaran Regency. Pesawaran Regency is included in the first (1) region of the tourism development in Lampung Province, based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS). According to BPS data, one of the popular tourist destinations on the coast of Pesawaran Regency is Pantai Mutun, which is relatively easy to reach. Pantai Mutun is located administratively in Padang Cermin District, Pesawaran Regency, precisely in Sukajaya Lempasing Village.
The potential attraction of this beach is its clean white sand and gentle waves, making it suitable for swimming and snorkeling activities. Pantai Mutun also offers various beach facilities such as parasailing, flying fish, banana boat, donut, canoe, jetski, and glass bottom boat. For children, there are also float rentals available for swimming and playing in the sea. Pantai Mutun indirectly fulfills the criteria for marine tourism. It is also included in the focus of the Regional Spatial Plan (RTRW) related to tourism areas in Lampung Province from 2019 to 2024, within the scope of the Regional Tourism Destination (DPD) as part of the Coastal Bay Teluk Betung - Pesawaran Tourism Strategic Area in Bandar Lampung City and Pesawaran Regency (Lampung Province Tourism and Creative Economy Agency, 2022). Therefore, it is important to evaluate the economic value of Pantai Mutun tourism using the appropriate method to provide an accurate picture of the tourism sector's contribution to the economy.
One of the methods used to estimate the economic value of tourism is the Travel Cost Method (TCM). This method uses the travel expenses incurred by visitors as a proxy for the economic value of tourism in a certain area. The TCM method is used in this research to estimate the economic value of tourism because it is considered one of the most accurate methods in estimating the economic value of tourism. The TCM method takes into account the travel expenses incurred by tourists and the distance traveled to reach tourist attractions, thus providing a more realistic estimate of the amount of money spent by tourists at specific tourist attractions (John & Johnson, 1985). According to Hanemann (1980), Loomis & White (1996), and Parson & Kealy (2004), the advantages of the TCM method are its ability to accurately estimate the economic value of tourism using travel cost data and the number of tourist visits. This method can also provide information about visitors' preferences for tourist attractions and the factors that influence their decision to visit specific places.
Several previous studies have also used the TCM method to estimate the economic value of tourism, such as the study by Widodo (2016) estimating the economic value of Mount Merbabu tourism, the study by Ariyanti et al. (2019) estimating the economic value of Halimun Salak Mountain National Park tourism. Hidayatullah et al. (2017) used the TCM method to estimate the economic value of tourism at Bangsring Beach, Banyuwangi. Furthermore, the study by Pramitasari et al. (2019) used the TCM method to estimate the economic value of tourism at Klayar Beach, Pacitan. In addition, the study by Mahfudz et al. (2020) also used the TCM method to estimate the economic value of tourism at Popoh Beach, Gunungkidul.
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