Consideration of Tourism Riverfront Development Elements for Pekanbaru City Transformation

Abstract. Pekanbaru is the capital of Riau which is well known as a business city with a strategic location between the trade routes of Sumatera. The city obviously has Siak River as its tourism potential. However, the river, which is one of the deepest and longest rivers in Indonesia, lately is no longer be the face of the city and is not managed optimally. This study can support the reviving of the river through riverfront tourism development. This study will discuss the consideration of development elements of riverfront tourism for Siak River, focusing on the urban villages of Kampung Bandar and Kampung Dalam, Senapelan Sub-district as the study location. The elements consist of function, image, theme, geographic factor, authenticity, accessibility, community perception and management which is based on a modification of the theories of Toree (1989) and Wren (1983). This study uses a mixed method approach, using a quantitative approach for community and visitors perception about the location and a qualitative approach for the analysis of riverfront tourism development elements. The data is collected through questionnaires, field observation, and interviews with relevant stakeholders. Based on the analysis, the study location already has the elements to form a riverfront tourism area and has the potential to be developed as the riverfront icon of Pekanbaru, yet it still needs strategies for improvement to build a new destination. The recommendations of destination development strategies consist of attraction development, facility development, accessibility development, and community empowerment through tourism, and also additional development strategies consisting of promotion and tourism organization development.