UPAYA PEMBERDAYAAN MASYARAKAT DALAM MEMBANGUN UMKM DI KAWASAN SUPER PRIORITAS NASIONAL LABUAN BAJO, KABUPATEN MANGGARAI BARAT

Abstract

Labuan Bajo National Tourism Strategic Area (KSPN) is an area that has the main function as a tourism destination or has the potential for national tourism development that has an important influence in one or more aspects, such as economic, social and cultural growth. As a super-priority tourist area, local creative actors in the community and especially MSME actors are expected to be empowered. A qualitative approach is used in this study because it aims to understand community empowerment in developing MSMEs at KSPN Labuan Bajo. As a source of data on the phenomenon under study, interviews with informants were conducted. FGDs were also conducted with stakeholders. From the results of the study, there are several things that can be concluded, including the central government, namely the Kemenkoparekraf and local governments, the Department of Manpower, Transmigration, Cooperatives and SMEs, Kab. West Manggarai through Perumda Bidadari has made efforts to empower the community in the development of SMEs in Labuan Bajo City, West Manggarai Regency, but it has not been maximized because the number of SMEs assisted is only small. This is because of the limited budget and human resources in the government. Factors that influence the development of SMEs in Labuan Bajo City include aspects: capital, mentoring, marketing distribution, financial aspects, and human resources. SMEs actors must have sufficient, so that the businesses they manage are able to develop and compete with other businesses and provide benefits to the local community in the tourist area of KSPN Labuan Bajo. The main obstacle for the government in implementing SME development is budget constraints. The government relies on the APBD for all budgetary needs, so training and coaching programs must be adjusted to the funding capacity of the West Manggarai district government.