Abstract: The development of a blue economy that is sustainable in nature necessitates the presence of effective governance systems that can effectively translate the aspirations of national policies into the local sphere, especially in the less developed, frontier, and outermost regions of Indonesia. The EMMIE (Effect, Mechanisms, Moderators, Implementation, Economic) framework has been employed as a tool to analyze the policy implementation of coastal tourism in Kupang Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, through the application of qualitative case studies that incorporate in-depth interviews, field studies, and document analysis to reveal the presence of a multidimensional policy failure in all five EMMIE aspects of the policy in the region. The presence of Law 23/2014 as a “meta-moderator” that limits the powers of local governments in the management of marine resources has also been revealed in the research, which has also developed four policy strategies that can be employed in the region, including the development of inter-governmental co-management agreements, the development of a Blue Economy Financing Facility, the development of a permanent Community & SME Empowerment Hub, and the development of a diversified blue economy strategy that focuses on the value chain of seaweed farming as well as community-based tourism development.

Keywords: Blue Economy, Policy Implementation, EMMIE Framework, Coastal Tourism, Underdeveloped Frontier Outermost Region

Pages: 312-325