Exploring Local Folklore and Its Contribution to Cultural Tourism

Abstract

Gorontalo City has a number of potential tourist attractions worth developing. Lahilote’s footprints, well-known as a popular folklore of the Gorontalo people, is one of the cultural tourism in Gorontalo city. Consequently, the local wisdom embedded in the attraction needs to be explored to promote the tourism of Gorontalo. This is also to preserve the cultural heritage of the story from being extinct. This study aims at exploring the life of the Gorontalo people to promote cultural tourism. It employed a folklore approach and the data collection involved field surveys and interviews. The results report that the footprints were from a man named Lahilote. The legend has been passed as a cultural heritage with its socio-cultural aspects of the Gorontalo people. In addition, the life of Lahilote is rich in values, such as historical, social, cultural, and educational values.