Digital friendly for West Sumatra tourism

Padang (ANTARA) - 2020 will be a tough year for the tourism sector because of COVID-19. Visits dropped dramatically, Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) of W Sumatra released zero percent of foreign tourist arrivals to W lllSumatra in April 2020.

This pandemic moment for me was actually a moment of cleaning up, fixing the regulations and technicalities in the field as well as the time to evaluate what had been done so far.

In government for example, I recommend updating website content by prioritizing Digital Friendly. I took the example of the website www.sumbar.travel. It's time to use the https security system on the website, moreover the website uses Wordpress Content Management System (CMS) or you can use Really Simple SSL plug-in.

Digital friendly for me is friendly with a digital lifestyle. For example, when someone reads about 'pacu jawi' or cow race in Tanah Datar, a website should not only display activity texts and then add photos and videos. But also show the coordinates that can be connected to google directions.

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Android is the most used platform for Indonesians. So when they visit the website, they can directly click the location point and Google Maps will direct visitors to visit the location.

This applies to all tourist destination points in W Sumatra, making operational standard procedures for each tourism office. Thus, for every visitor who opens a cellphone, they easily find the destination location.

Do you have to make a special Android or iOS application, as long as it is mobile friendly website, it is enough. Just open Google, search, click directions, and automatically appear Google Maps and click Route. Done.

Digital tourism community

It is time for the government to provide space for anyone from W Sumatra who wants to document the surrounding area with video with a certain standard so that the quality is same.

For example when I want to upload a beautiful sunset on Gandoriah beach, in Pariaman, then the video I uploaded to YouTube and I sent the URL to the website sumbar.travel or other tourism agencies website.

By including additional information including location coordinates. Then the website admin displays it on the website and creates community and footage categories, while still displaying my youtube link.

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Besides making it easier for people to visit the same location, it will certainly make me proud that my YouTube channel is loaded by the W Sumatra Tourism website.

If one or two people do that and feel the same as me, I'm sure a tourism community will be formed that is not from training or seminars, but from the spirit of wanting to build a digitalized village.

Digitalization of the Private Sector

Hospitality is supporting the tourism sector, indeed people will easily find hotels in one place by using applications such as traveloka, Tiket.com, booking.com and others.

But every hotel should have a website, not just display information and room prices. Also displays tourist destinations around with coordinates.

Don't forget, prepare a virtual tour room and facilities for website visitors. Make sure that your marketing team also has digital skills, give this portion to young people. Every question that comes in can be responded, at least it can be in Indonesian or English.

If you don't have social media, make it right now, this is the moment. Update the content with interesting, photos and videos of hotel conditions. If you need to use the initial content of professionals so that the video looks interesting and the photos look tempting.

So that the pandemic is not time for reflection. There are positive things that will become stories later when tourism has improved.

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Likewise for restaurants, cafes, places to hang out, tour operators, museums, mosques, and others. All can use Google Maps and Google includes it in the search directory so it is very easy for people who will visit or just looking for information

Send data to the Tourism Office website to be registered and official, send the website address and social media address. For hotels and restaurants, there must be an instagram. Sometimes people go to restaurants not just to eat, but also to take pictures.

Make a virtual tour

Virtual tour is a virtual tour activity, people see the vidpaeo tour conducted by the operator, people who see it can from anywhere.

The government can make a video tour at every tourist spot. For example Padang Beach, make a video by walking from Muaro to the back of the NPM bus pool. Make a version back and forth and make a walking version on the sidewalk and on the water's edge. Also make a version using a bicycle or motorized vehicle.

Visitors who miss Padang Beach will definitely refresh their memories about Padang Beach when they see the video. Also show the sea water touching the feet in the video, as if visitors feel it because of the sound of the waves.

This is the way for people to come back soon, they repeat their memories. For those who have never come, seeing the video challenges him to visit.

Also provide a marketplace for SMEs to sell, If it was managed by the government was more very good.

The writer is an IT practitioner

Transleted by; Mutiara Ramadhani

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