Path of Science: International Electronic Scientific Journal

This study analyses sports tourism activities in Sabang City in 2025. As a tourism subsector, sports tourism has great potential to drive regional economic growth, expand employment opportunities, and strengthen the destination's image at both the national and international levels. However, its development still faces challenges, including limited supporting infrastructure, transportation access, accommodations, and international-standard sports facilities. In addition, suboptimal destination promotion and branding, along with uneven human resource readiness, hinder efforts to attract tourists, particularly international visitors. Sabang Regency possesses natural advantages that strongly support sports tourism activities, particularly marine tourism such as diving, snorkelling, and other adventure sports. However, stakeholders have not yet fully optimised this potential because they organise sports events only sporadically and do not integrate them into the annual tourism calendar. As a result, tourist numbers fluctuate, accommodation occupancy rates remain low outside peak seasons, and investment stays limited.

Nevertheless, tourist satisfaction levels in Sabang are relatively high, particularly regarding natural beauty, facilities, accessibility, and the quality of guide services—factors that foster loyalty and the intention to revisit. This study employs a quantitative approach using a descriptive method. The study population consists of tourists engaging in sports tourism activities in Sabang Regency in 2025, totalling 141,121 people. The study used purposive sampling with a minimum sample size of 92 respondents based on the Slovin formula, supplemented by incidental sampling. The researcher collected data through interviews, questionnaires, and document analysis and analysed them using descriptive statistics. The results indicate that tourism activities in Sabang are dominated by nature-based activities such as diving and snorkelling, with a fairly high level of participation in various other sports activities. The main factors influencing tourists' decisions include natural attractions, guide quality, supporting facilities, accessibility, safety, price, and access to digital information.

From an Islamic Sharia perspective, factors such as Muslim-friendly services, halal food, access to places of worship, and honest, trustworthy service also enhance tourist satisfaction. Based on the research findings, sports tourism activities in Sabang have strong potential for sustainable development, particularly by integrating halal tourism principles, improving infrastructure quality, and strengthening well-planned event promotion and management. These findings are expected to serve as a foundation for the government and tourism industry stakeholders in formulating competitive sports tourism development strategies.

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