Delving into the Reality of Waste at Coro Beach a Comprehensive Analysis and Innovative Solution Recommendations for Community-Based Sustainable Tourism

Sustainable development is a global imperative, demanding tourism to adopt sustainability principles. Ecotourism offers a model for environmental conservation and community empowerment; however, tourism growth often brings serious challenges, especially waste management issues that strongly correlate with visitor numbers. Ironically, a significant amount of marine waste originates from land due to poor management systems and high consumption of single-use items. In Indonesia, the implementation of Law No. 18 of 2008 is hampered by old paradigms, the NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) phenomenon, and low public awareness. Personal observations at Coro Beach, Tulungagung, reveal the natural beauty marred by waste accumulation, particularly plastic in mangrove areas, indicating a gap between natural potential, visitor behavior, and management handling. This research aims to identify the main challenges of waste management at Coro Beach, analyze the contributions of visitor behavior and facilities, and propose innovative sustainable solutions. Using a qualitative approach and literature review, data were collected from credible scientific literature, analyzed descriptively qualitative with thematic content analysis. Personal observations served as a reflective basis in the analysis process. The research findings confirm that the waste problem at Coro Beach reflects broader challenges in natural tourism destinations: irresponsible visitor behavior, gaps in effective facilities and management systems, and negative impacts on natural aesthetics and tourism potential. The dominance of plastic waste exacerbates coastal ecosystem damage. As solutions, a holistic and multidimensional approach is recommended: (1) Increasing visitor awareness and education through educational ecotourism and 3R campaigns, and strengthening the role of local guides. (2) Providing effective waste management infrastructure, including adequate segregated waste bins, scheduled collection, and simple on-site processing. (3) Enhancing local community participation and multi-stakeholder collaboration through the formation of active POKDARWIS (Kelompok Sadar Wisata - Tourism Awareness Groups), economic empowerment based on recycling, and strategic partnerships. (4) Enforcing regulations and continuous monitoring with consistent sanctions and periodic monitoring systems. The implementation of these recommendations is expected to make Coro Beach a model of responsible ecotourism, creating tangible positive impacts, and inspiring action in accordance with the theme of innovative action.