UNAIR NEWS – Tourism is one of the sectors generating a large amount of state revenue. Unfortunately, the pandemic has greatly affected the revenue from tourism sector. Even the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy (Menparekraf) Whisnutama has estimated that the pandemic has a risk of harming the tourism sector up to US $ 4 billion or around Rp. 54.6 trillion. It was based on data from the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy that in June 2020 there were only 160,282 foreign tourists. It means that there was a drastic decline -88.82% compared to the number of foreign tourists in June 2019 reached 1,434,103.
This issue inspired Tourism Three-Year-Vocational Program (D3) at Faculty of Vocational Studies Universitas Airlangga to hold an online guest lecture on Thursday, August 19, 2020. In the guest lecture, Fitria Earlike Anwar Sani was the speaker. She is an academic and practitioner in the tourism sector. Fitria has been active in the world of tourism for a long time, even now, she is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in that field.
Fitria said that the pandemic has brought a new paradigm in tourism sector. “The pandemic has made tourism enter a new paradigm, quality tourism,” she said. He explained that quality tourism has 4 components.
“Quality tourism has 4 components. First, tourism must respect the local culture and environment. Second, people’s purchasing power has an impact on the local economy. Third, tourism contributes so is not just about having fun. Fourth, it inspires others, ” she explained.
Previously, tourist destinations inviting crowds and visited by many people at low cost were ones to choose. However, the pandemic has affected the people’s choices.
“We used to look for busy and cheap tourist destinations. But now it’s changing due to the pandemic. We will turn to destinations with different attractions, such as ones that apply physical distancing. So, we tend to choose destinations that are quiet and carried out outdoors such as nature tourism. The community will also consider destinations that are equipped with facilities that support the implementation of health protocols such as hand washing spots that are easily accessible even though people have to pay more, “said Fitria.
As previously mentioned, quality tourism is a new paradigm in the tourism sector, the management also adapts to existing conditions. Management that can be done is to plan changes for improvement, make changes on a small scale, check the existing changes, and do something to make benefits of change and maintain it.
New Tourism Trends In order to survive, there are several new trends that must be considered by industrial sector business owners. First is the amenities “Amenities, which previously tended to lower prices, but now this aspect must prioritize the aspect of hygiene so prices do not really matter,” said Fitria.
Second is access, when traveling, people consider using cheap transportation, but the pandemic creates new trends in people’s views. “In the past, we considered transportation with low costs, such as choosing flights that required people to transit first, now, it is prioritized to direct flights,” she explained.
Third is attraction, a destination that is currently went viral is no longer an easy option. “In the past, we used to look for one which went viral, now it is prioritized to a destination that is cool, quiet, and far from the crowd,” she said.
The fourth is the change in the form of promotion pattern. “If we previously promoted cheap mass tourism, it has shifted to premium class now,” she said. Fifth is the people, if previously the quality of human resources was focused on their competencies, a pandemic has also brought changes. “In the past, human resources were focused on the competency aspect, but now it has changed to focus on safety and hygiene SOPs,” said Fitria. (*)
Author: Icha Nur Imami Puspita Editor: Feri Fenoria Rifai
