Van Der Wijck’s Trace in Pantura: The Development of Tourism Industry Based on Literary-Culture Site

Abstract

As a literary-culture site, the Van Der Wijck Monument located on the northern coast of Lamongan poses its own intrigue for research and observation. This paper aims to portray the phenomena surrounding the Van Der Wijck Monument. The site denotes an important literary-culture premise designed to produce a strategic formulation concerning the development of a literary-culture-based tourism industry, regulative policies, and a local economic improvement strategy for the northern coastal communities of Lamongan regency. The problem that has arisen so far, the Van Der Wijck monument is that there is no serious handling from various parties, including the local government. The present research deploys descriptive-qualitative approach. The results of this study indicate that the development of Van Der Wijck Monument as a literary-culture site constitutes an effort to preserve the cultural site, leading to enhanced cultural restoration, increased knowledge and socio-economic capacity of the northern coastal community in Lamongan, East Java. Therefore, the strategic formula for developing the site as a tourism industry is projected to generate cultural memory, while at the same time empowering the local economy.