PROMOTING RESPONSIBLE ENTREPRENEURSHIP THROUGH LOCAL CREATIVEECONOMY DEVELOPMENT IN LOMBOK’S TOURISM VILLAGES

Abstract

This research examines the dynamics of the regional economy of rural tourism villages in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, in order to build a strategic framework for responsible entrepreneurship that connects macro-infrastructure development such as the Mandalika Super Priority Destination with the local creative economy. The study adopts a qualitative desk-study design and using thematic content analysis to synthesis academic literature, institutional reports, and comparative case benchmarks to assess the structural capabilities and constraints of the rural company ecosystem in Lombok. The findings show that despite rich cultural and topographical endowments, local micro-entrepreneurs are constrained by persisting bottlenecks such as a significant digital gap, institutional fragility of Village-Owned Enterprises (BUMDes), elite capture, and risks of ecological and cultural commercialization. The research proposes a four-pronged approach to address these vulnerabilities: spatial “Sea-to-Village” experiential circuits, youth-powered Village Digital Hubs with QR-code provenance tagging, traditional legal enforcement (Awig-Awig) to protect land and crafts, and government-backed green supply chains. The paper significantly adds value by providing a contextualised, actionable roadmap for policymakers, local institutions and community development practitioners to transform passive rural stopovers into resilient, ethically anchored creative hubs, thereby enabling inclusive and sustainable economic growth in emerging destinations in the Global South