Administrative Compliance, Urban Tourism Development, and Environmental Pressure: Evidence from a Heritage City in Indonesia

Abstract

Rapid growth in urban tourism has intensified hotel development in heritage city centers, raising concerns over regulatory compliance and environmental sustainability. This study examines the relationship between administrative licensing compliance, spatial planning conformity, and environmental pressure arising from hotel development in Bukittinggi, a historic tourism city in Indonesia. Using a socio-legal approach, this research integrates normative legal analysis with empirical environmental assessment. Administrative compliance is evaluated through licensing documents and spatial regulations, while environmental impacts are measured using a composite Environmental Pressure Index constructed via Principal Component Analysis (PCA), incorporating waste generation, noise intensity, and reduction of green open space from 2020 to 2022. The findings reveal a significant gap between formal administrative compliance and substantive environmental outcomes. Although the hotel development fulfilled procedural licensing requirements, environmental pressure increased markedly over time. This indicates that licensing functions more as a procedural authorization than as an effective regulatory instrument for environmental control. The study contributes to urban governance literature by demonstrating that regulatory effectiveness in tourism-driven urban development depends on the integration of environmental performance indicators into administrative enforcement. Policy implications highlight the need for performance-based licensing, post-approval monitoring, and transparency to ensure sustainable urban tourism development in heritage cities.