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THE Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy explained 5 tourism challenges in the era of digital technology advancements. Especially at this time tourism is a leading sector to bring in foreign exchange into the country.
According to Deputy Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Angela Tanoesoedibjo said President Joko Widodo has made tourism a superior sector and also directed that all ministries support the tourism sector.
“Because as we know, to build tourism destinations requires collaboration between ministries / institutions including local governments, for example, Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing for road access, Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub) for accessibility, Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) for investment, and so on,” she said.
She explained, the potential number of foreign tourists could still be increased in the future. However, one thing that must be a common concern, namely not only fixated by the number of tourists. But of the total foreign exchange generated.
“It means, we have to pay attention, the expenditure of foreign tourists coming once, how to calculate it, from the expenditure per day, and the number of days here or length of stay. What we have to strive for together is with 1 foreign tourist alike, how can he spend more per day,” said Angela.
Angela formulates concrete steps that can be done together to explore the potential of tourism in Indonesia. First, said Angela, supporting the development of access, amenities, and attractions of new tourist destinations, or what is often referred to as 10 new Bali and its entire ecosystem.
Because with this development, more and more tourism product options can target more tourists, and the capacity to be able to receive more tourists will increase.
“In addition, this development will create new jobs, and improve the economy in various regions,” she said.
Secondly, improving the quality of human resources besides through formal channels, but also through vocational training (reskilling/upskilling) which is internationally certified and recognized by the industry.
“But not only do we improve human resource capabilities in the field of technology, this digital development can be utilized as a platform for online training,” she added.
Third, support sustainable development tourism initiatives. In this case, she said, there are many elements including wish management, energy development, also water management, inclusive of the gender equality community, security issues, and many other things.
“This is important for us, because of our shared responsibility to preserve nature, culture, and our assets so that they can be passed on to the next generation. In addition, the future trend of sustainable tourism is one of the reasons tourists visit. According to the sustainable travel report in 2018, 87 percent want” once traveling sustainable. Even though the reality is still less than 50% but the desire is there. In this digital age, tourists easily find information about sustainable travel,” she explained.
Fourth, continued Angela related to digital promotional imagery, one of which is micro targeting on target. He gave an example, if prospective tourists like diving activities, the promotion must be right for lovers of diving not hiking, and vice versa, and this can be done via digital.
“The right promotion uses 5 things like the right platform, the right target, the right time, the right frequency and the right message or content. Especially for the latter, in the future, with the digital era, content must be more personal, more focused on experience and accompanied by call to action,” she concluded.
The fifth solution is to support collaboration between tourism and the creative economy that must support each other. If you look at destinations that are ripe in Europe, the creative economy is more often the main point.
“This needs to be improved. In Bali, it has already happened. Like the wedding, there is an element of creative economy in it. Technology must encourage the business process, then there is a photography service application, which can provide local photographers with guaranteed standards and can be accessed easily, the payment is also online, so if you want photos you can use the services of a local photographer,” she said. [traveltext.id/photo special]
