Analyzing the Moderating Effect in Relationship Between Tourism Open Spaces and Regional Development in Lake Toba North Sumatera, Indonesia

Abstract

As one of the fastest-growing sectors in the world, tourism plays a crucial role in providing a source of income for many countries. In conjunction with its function, this study tries to analyze the relationship between Tourism Open Spaces and Regional Development in Lake Toba North Sumatera, Indonesia. This study utilized the closed variables in measuring the development of tourism, i.e., visitor satisfaction, destination image, and visitor intention, and loyalty. This study uses two sources of data, namely primary and secondary data. Primary obtained from surveyed questionnaires and secondary via institution report or documentation. This study is conducted in several Panatapan spots as open tourism space in Simalungun Regency. A total of 313 respondents participated in this study. The data analyzed by using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with SmartPLS 3.0. The results of analysis show that the destination image and visitor satisfaction mediate the relationship between tourism space and regional development. In conclusion, this study found the importance of developing tourism open space to build destination images, tourist satisfaction, intention, and visitor loyalty in supporting regional development in Simalungun Regency.