Destination Framing in Southwest Papua's Marine Ecotourism: A User-Generated Content Analysis

Abstract

The marine ecotourism destinations of Raja Ampat in Southwest Papua Province, located within the Coral Triangle, possess globally significant biodiversity and strong potential for sustainable diving tourism development. While destination promotion has traditionally relied on top-down branding strategies led by government institutions, the digital platforms has shifted the dynamics of tourism communication toward more participatory and user-driven processes. This study aims to analyze destination framing constructed through tourist perceptions and to identify key dimensions shaping the tourists' interpretations. Using a qualitative approach, this research examines 100 units of user-generated content (UGC) collected from multiple digital platforms, including social media and online review sites. Data were analyzed using thematic and framing analysis based on Entman’s frameworks concept. The findings reveal that destination framing is constructed through six primary dimensions: biodiversity, experience, adventure, infrastructure, safety, and conservation. While biodiversity, experience, and adventure are predominantly framed positively, other dimensions such as infrastructure, safety, and conservation reflect critical and ambivalent perspectives. By incorporating tourist-generated narratives, these findings highlight the importance of integrating bottom-up destination framing into tourism governance and policy-making processes whereas the stakeholders can develop more adaptive, responsive, and sustainable tourism strategies. This research contributes to the advancement of communication-based approaches in tourism studies by positioning destination framing as a key analytical lens in the digital era.