<![CDATA[Tourism activities are recognized as a strategic instrument for accelerating local economic growth, especially in regions with strong comparative advantages in natural and cultural assets. This study analyzes the role of Gundaling Hill Tourism Object development in advancing local economic development in Karo Regency, North Sumatra Province. Four key dimensions are examined: mechanisms of economic opportunity generation and the distribution patterns of their benefits, income dynamics across tourism seasons along with operators' adaptive strategies, forms of community engagement and the structural barriers facing vulnerable groups, and the factors that promote or inhibit the optimization of local economic development. This study employs a descriptive-exploratory qualitative approach, collecting data through semi-structured in-depth interviews, field observation, and documentary review involving 32 informants comprising 25 local business operators and 7 key informants from government agencies, area management, merchant associations, community leaders, and academics. Data analysis followed the six-phase thematic analysis procedure developed by Braun and Clarke (2006). The findings reveal that three mechanisms simultaneously create economic opportunities in the Gundaling area, yet with markedly different levels of effectiveness. Government infrastructure investment of IDR 9.7 billion over 2020–2024 generated cumulative visitor growth of 31.2 percent; however, the resulting distribution of economic benefits was highly unequal, with an income disparity ratio of 4.68 times between operator groups. The extreme seasonality phenomenon, with peak-to-off-season income ratios of 5 to 15 times, poses the most severe threat to household economic stability, as 92 percent of informants were compelled to drastically reduce family consumption and 40 percent had been ensnared in high-interest informal loans during slow periods. An economic leakage rate of 58–78 percent of tourist expenditure undermined the tourism multiplier effect, as the majority of raw materials and souvenirs were sourced from outside the regency. Furthermore, community participation in policy planning was critically limited, with 88 percent of business operators never having been included in any tourism development planning forum.]]>
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