The Role of Tourism Development in Tourist Satisfaction at Bedengan Camping Ground, Malang Regency, Indonesia

Abstract

For tourism to grow in a way that is good for the environment, it is important to understand what makes tourists happy, especially in emerging adventure tourism destinations like camping grounds. This study examines how attractions, accessibility, and amenities affect tourist satisfaction at Bedengan Camping Ground in Malang Regency, East Java, Indonesia, using the established 3A tourism development framework. We employed a quantitative explanatory research methodology with 119 tourists selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected using validated questionnaires with established reliability (Cronbach's α > 0.7 for all constructs) and analyzed using descriptive statistics, classical assumption tests, multiple linear regression, t-tests, and F-tests. Results revealed that attractions had a significant positive effect on tourist satisfaction (β = 0.855, p < 0.001), as did amenities (β = 0.426, p = 0.002). However, accessibility did not significantly influence tourist satisfaction (β = 0.102, p = 0.281), which contradicts conventional tourism theory but aligns with adventure tourism literature where moderate access challenges may enhance rather than diminish the experience. The combined effect of all three variables was significant (F = 64.547, p < 0.001), explaining 62.5% of the variance in tourist satisfaction.
This study contributes to tourism literature by demonstrating context-dependent relationships within the 3A framework, particularly in adventure tourism settings where traditional accessibility assumptions may not apply. The findings suggest that destination managers should prioritize natural attraction preservation and amenity development while recognizing that accessibility improvements may serve market expansion rather than satisfaction enhancement purposes.