Analysis of Tourist Motivation in Cave Tubing Activities in Pindul Cave

. A popular location for special interest tourism, Pindul Cave is situated in Desa Bejiharjo, Kecamatan Karangmojo, Gunungkidul, and offers cave tubing adventures. By gliding down the tunnel on inner tubes and taking in the beautiful karst scenery, tourists can partake in a sport called "cave tubing." Pindul Cave is a unique destination that attracts tourists drawn to it by favorable impressions of its offerings. Since motivation starts the travel process, it is essential to tourism even if travelers frequently need to recognize its importance. Among the several kinds of tourism, depending on motive, are leisure, convention, sports, cultural, leisure, and business travel. Discovering the local way of life, taking in the scenic surroundings, relaxing, exploring new areas, finding peace, and satisfying one's curiosity are all goals of pleasure tourism. Many travelers have different reasons for visiting Pindul Cave, such as its popularity. Travelers who travel independently (FITs) typically go in small groups of five to ten persons, unlike tourists who come in huge groups escorted by travel agencies. In order to get and evaluate data from several sources and provide essential insights into industry trends and visitor motivations, the talk goes into additional detail about the techniques used, including qualitative research. Furthermore, the discourse encompasses the number of tourists visiting Pindul Cave, their reasons for visiting, and the value addition they perceive from their travels. This thorough investigation clarifies the various facets of tourism dynamics in Pindul Cave.


INTRODUCTION
A popular speleotourism location, Pindul Cave is situated in Bejiharjo Village, Karangmojo District, Gunungkidul.It offers tire-powered cave tunnels and popular cave tubing.
Using tires, tourists can explore the cave and enjoy the alluring karst scenery by engaging in cave tubing activities.Vacationers are motivated to visit Pindul Cave because of its distinctiveness.
Positive perceptions of Pindul Cave as a tourist destination are the reason behind this interest in visiting tourists.
While travelers frequently fail to see it, motivation in tourism is fundamental.According to Sharppey (1994in Malik et al., 2016), motivation starts with tourism.Leisure travel, cultural travel, sports travel, business travel, and convention travel are a few examples of special tourism Because Pindul Cave receives many visitors, the reasons for their visits are likewise diverse.FITs (Free Independent Travelers) are small groups of typically 5-10 people; they are not the same as tourists who arrive with agencies and have huge groups included in the tour package.Tourists' propensity to travel to Pindul Cave is characterized by their transactional, referential, preferred, and exploratory interests.In Pindul Cave, travelers who like to experience adventure attractions as part of their spa tourism activities typically show an exploratory interest.

METHOD
Study employs a qualitative methodology.Descriptive and unstructured data can be gathered and analyzed using the qualitative method, including opinion polls, stakeholder interviews, and content analysis from various sources.This makes it possible to comprehend people's opinions and experiences about tourism industry developments in detail.The author also offers insightful views about trends in the tourist sector, such as adjustments to marketing tactics, guest experiences, and service standards.Thoroughly examining the first-hand experience of a specific hotel or location enables the acquisition of detailed data and thorough comprehension.
Additionally, the discovery of keywords, themes, and patterns that point to specific trends in the tourist business is made possible through the study of texts such as industry reports, news stories, and scholarly publications.

DISCUSSION
Speleo tourism is one of the attractions offered by Pindul Cave, an exciting tourist destination.Cavity tubing is a popular activity at Pindul Cave.Participants use tires to go along the cave and enjoy the breathtaking view of the karst below.In approximately 45 to 60 minutes, tourists can traverse the 250 meters of the cave with the assistance of a guide while wearing life jackets and oversized tires.When one first enters Pindul Cave, it is separated into three areas: • the bright area, which receives direct sunshine all the time • the dimly lit area, which receives sunlight occasionally • the perpetual dark area, which is the portion of the cave that receives no sunlight at all When engaging in cave tubing activities, travelers can discover a variety of other unusual decorations in addition to the recognizable pearl stalactites and massive stalagmites.

Number of Tourist Visits
Today, BUMDES Maju Mandiri Desa Bejiharjo, who works with 11 tour guides in the As depicted in the image above, Pindul Cave experienced a significant surge in tourism in 2021, with an annual visitation of 40,000.This marked a notable recovery from the pandemicinduced decline in 2020 when the annual visits plummeted to a mere 26,000.The positive trend continued in 2022, with 64,129 visitors registered through May, a number that is expected to rise as the pandemic situation improves.
These travelers come from various backgrounds.However, they can be broadly categorized into two groups: those who travel in big groups accompanied by travel agents and those who travel independently and in smaller groups through travel clubs or independently organized trips.Each group, including work groups, study tours, community groups, and so forth, typically has between 100 and 200 tourists brought by the brokers.Pindul Cave attracts large groups of tourists who want to try new things, add to their cave tubing experience, and participate in various event-related activities.For example, families and playgroups rarely The motive for family travel to Pindul Cave is high, as Table 1 illustrates (3.57).Traveling on vacation with family is something that most people wish to do in order to improve their connections.Spending holidays with loved ones can help soothe the mind and relax the body.
The body will release "happy hormones" when engaging in various enjoyable activities, boosting immunity.Making joyful and priceless experiences with your family through play throughout the holidays is certain.For kids, this might serve as a memory and bring joy.
Novianti et al. ( 2020) reported that travelers will experience several benefits in addition to happiness and sentimental travel experiences in Pindul Cave: 1) Sensory impressions, tourists will get a clear visual, auditory, olfactory or tactile memory of their experience.
2) Tourists get an emotional response to their exciting experience passing through Pindul Cave.
3) Reflective response.Travellers gain new insights as a result of cognitive processing of their experiences and can make comments that they have successfully reflected on what they see and feel.The added value felt by tourists will affect their experience during the trip.

Tourist Interest
by motivation.Discovering new things, relaxing, breathing fresh air, appreciating the beauty of nature, learning about the local way of life, and finding peace of mind are the goals of pleasure tourism.Physical and spiritual rejuvenation is the goal of leisure travel.Travelers are motivated by four things: achievement, stress-relieving/fun, novelty-seeking, and family/educational.A novelistic person seeks out novel experiences, relief from the monotony of daily life, and recognition for their accomplishments.
Pindul Cave Tourism Area to arrange tourist services, oversees the central management of Pindul Cave.While tourists visiting Pindul Cave were relatively high prior to the pandemic, this number drastically decreased due to restrictions on public transportation.The following diagram illustrates this.Picture: Number of tourist visits in Pindul Cave in 2019-May 2022 (Source: BUMDes Maju Mandiri Desa Bejiharjo)

Table 1 . Motivation of Tourists in Pindul Cave
comprise more than five to ten tourists on FITs.Adventure cave tubing and relaxation with loved ones are the main reasons FITs travelers travel to Pindul Cave.

Table 2 .
As observed, exploratory interest indicates a strong desire to explore tourist destinations (2.93).First, tourists research Pindul Cave's entrance fees, benefits, and previous visitors' experiences.They also use social media platforms like Instagram to learn about other people's positive experiences visiting Pindul Cave.Exploratory interest demonstrates the actions of people who are always seeking out information about a product to bolster their beliefs about Additionally, travelers will gladly share the thrill of crossing Pindul Cave with friends and family.The referential motivation data demonstrating strong interest indicates this.CONCLUSION A trendy destination is Pindul Cave.Travelers to Pindul Cave can be broadly classified into groups of tour agents with various interests and objectives and FITs (Free Independent Travellers).The primary drivers of tourists' motivation are stress and familial factors.Conversely, the primary drivers of tourists' interest are referential (i.e., the desire to recommend Pindul Cave to those closest to them) and exploratory (i.e., the behavior of people constantly seeking information about products of interest).It follows that most visitors to Pindul Cave are engaged in leisure activities or use their free time to unwind with those closest to them after returning from a long day at work.