<![CDATA[Border tourism can connect territorial symbolism, cross-border mobility, local identity, and local economic development, but these benefits depend on coordination across institutions with different mandates. This study explains how collaborative governance shapes border tourism development in Sota District, Merauke, on the Indonesia-Papua New Guinea border. A qualitative single-case study draws on one documented FGD at PLBN Sota on 31 October 2024 (about 130 minutes), field observation and survey material from a 2024 government-university study, signed tourism datasets, and policy and planning documents. FGD evidence was anonymized with role-based codes and analyzed manually using a theory-driven thematic matrix. Findings show that border identity is both an incentive and an institutional complication: it creates destination and market value while connecting tourism to border management, village governance, infrastructure, conservation, and community livelihoods. Collaboration appears through participatory discussion, cross-sector coordination, market/community involvement, promotion, and training, but is only partly institutionalized. Facilitative leadership is distributed across tourism authorities, border management, and local actors. WebGIS, master planning, infrastructure, capacity building, and multi-source financing are treated as project outputs or planned directions rather than consolidated outcomes. The study shows that peripheral border tourism requires bridging leadership and integrated vertical-horizontal coordination.]]>
