Equity Issues in Benefits Distribution: The Case of Kreo Cave Tourism in Semarang, Indonesia

Tourism development can bring benefits to local people. The Kreo Cave tourism in Kandri Village of Semarang City, which is attracting increased interest due to the operation of the recently-built Jatibarang Reservoir, is also expected to benefit the residents significantly. Thus, this study aims to answer the question "How is the distribution of the benefits of Kreo Cave tourism development aligned for the local people?". Referring to the concept of Equity-Based Development, the focus is twofold. The first is on what aspects the local community can benefit from Kreo Cave tourism, and the second is on how well equity is applied to the benefit distribution. The results show that equity failures in seven aspects of the benefit distribution are at the low to moderate levels. On average, only moderate inequity is perceived by the local people. The City Government facilitation in developing the tourism village of Kampong Talun Kacang may have something to do with this outcome. However, Talun Kacang is only a part of Kandri nearest to Kreo Cave, and people in the more distant parts of the village may perceive it differently. That is why, the equity failure in job opportunity is surprisingly severe although the trend in the last five years is a bit improving. This aspect should be given serious attention by the city government. An important measure is that the community empowerment program should be improved to encompass villagers who live distant from the Kreo Cave and Jatibarang Reservoir.