Examining the Impacts of Sport Tourism Event in Strengthening Local Economy: The Case of Manado Fiesta 2018 in Manado, Indonesia

Abstract

This research was based on the efforts of the Manado City Government in carrying out the Fiesta Festival, in an attempt to introduce, promote and strengthen the image of the city’s destinations as a paragliding tourism center. The Fiesta Year 2018 was an exploration event in the municipal, which featured seven festivals (F7), consisted of Fish and Coral, Food, Fashion, Flying, Fair, Fun-music and Faith. The flying element however involved the implementation of sports events, which included paragliding competition on Mount Tumpa, conversely promoting the site as a leading tourism destination in the city of Manado. This research was conducted in a location where participants in the international accuracy, took off at Mount Tumpa, Tongkaina Village, Bunaken District, Manado City. The design that was implemented was descriptive qualitative, carried out by direct observations, interviews and documentation. The results indicated that vacationists who came to witness and converse directly to those involve in the paragliding sports at the Manado Fiesta 2018 were of the wanderlust type. This was because they were young individuals that were motivated to gain new experiences. The promotion that embarked by the committee regarding paragliding was very good and clear, further strengthening the image of the city, as a place of sports tourism, especially paragliding. The results of the interview showed that the implementation of Manado Fiesta event 2018 was successfully carried out, due to it being well known for its good promotion as an input of the reflection of the destination as a paragliding, natural and sea nuances. However, there were a number of corrections that must be made, such as the provision of transportation to the location of the activities, which included shuttle buses and other utility facilities, such as trash cans, shelters and places of worship.