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TOURISTS from Indonesia apparently really like using gadgets and rely quite a lot on technology to determine their holiday trips.
This interesting fact was obtained from a report entitled “SiteMinder’s Changing Traveler Report 2023″ which was attended by 10,000 tourists from 12 countries, including 840 people from Indonesia. The research, which took place in July 2023, revealed that 97% of Indonesian tourists choose their tourist destinations based on social media recommendations.
“From this it can be seen that Indonesian tourists are quite dependent on technology and gadgets. Because only 97% use social media to determine their tourist destinations,” said SiteMinder Regional Vice President for Asia Pacific Bradley Haines in a press conference, Tuesday (10/04).
This figure far exceeds the trend of global tourists, where only 70% use social media as a reference for vacation spots and spending their free time. The attachment between Indonesian tourists and technology apparently does not stop at the level of looking for references but also as many as 73% of Indonesian tourists buy their holiday accommodation through Online Travel Agency (OTA) services.
Apart from providing a sense of comfort without the hassle of buying directly at the holiday destination, Indonesian tourists tend to use technology because it can facilitate the “check-in” process which usually takes quite a long time.
The use of technology that is inherent in Indonesian tourists is also reflected in terms of communication with accommodation, as many as 46% of Indonesian tourists choose communication solutions via devices.
This figure exceeds the percentage of global tourists, who only 32% prefer to communicate with accommodation only via gadgets. In fact, tourists from other countries prefer face-to-face communication.
The characteristics of Indonesian tourists in the report appear to be similar to tourists from India and China who are quite dependent on technology, especially in planning holidays. The report also states that Indonesian tourists are currently interested in looking for holidays with authentic experiences and are no longer concerned with the number of locations they visit.
As many as 66% or 2/3 of respondents from Indonesia like experiences that are rich in local values to create memorable holidays.
Meanwhile, Senior Business Development Manager for Siteminder Indonesia, Rio Ricaro, further explained that this means that Indonesian tourists are no longer chasing the number of locations they visit for vacation, but are now more concerned with local experiences to create new memories on their vacation.
“They currently prefer to look for authentic experiences while on holiday, interacting with local people while on holiday or enjoying the arts. For example, if they go to Bali to enjoy the Kecak dance, they will focus on looking for that entertainment and not look for other destinations apart from that,” concluded Rio.
With the discovery of this new trend, it is hoped that the accommodation and tourism industry in Indonesia can become more digitally literate in its business so that it can seize great opportunities from people’s habits which are currently increasingly dependent on gadgets. [antaranews/photo special]
