Feasibility of coral reefs to support marine ecotourism at Kampung Baru Beach, Sempu Strait, Malang Regency, Indonesia

Marine tourism is a tourism activity carried out by utilizing coastal and marine resources. Snorkeling is an element of marine tourism that is widely practiced because it does not require special skills. On the other hand, snorkelling also can have a negative impact on coral reefs. The carrying capacity of the area needs to be considered to reduce the negative impact of tourism. In this analysis, a geographic information system is applied to provide spatial information. There were seven parameters studied, namely the percentage of live coral cover, the number of coral lifeforms, the number of species of reef fish, current velocity, water clarity, water depth, and tides. All parameters are processed and converted into spatial information using the weighted overlay method. This method uses the classification and weighting of each parameter based on the tourism suitability index. The area that tourists can use for snorkelling is 10,008.46 m², which is divided into 4 zones at a depth of 1-6 m. Coral coverage was 54-76% with 8-10 coral lifeforms and was dominated by Acropora branching and coral foliose. The number of species of coral fish is 29-45, dominated by the Chaetodontidae family. Based on the average current velocity, August-December (0.25–0.35 m/s) is the suitable period for snorkeling. Based on the carrying capacity’s area, Kampung Baru Beach can accommodate approximately 41 tourists in a day. The most suitable time for snorkeling is snorkeling is among 08.00 to 15.00 WIB.