UNAIR NEWS –Student Executive Board (BEM) School of Health and Natural Sciences (SIKIA) Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR) has held an international-scale webinar entitled Airlangga Ethno Ecotourism (AEE). This webinar as an effort of branding of Banyuwangi, especially in the fields of tourism, culture, and ecology, is also supported by the Banyuwangi Regency Culture and Tourism Office.

The webinar also presented the Head of Marketing of Banyuwangi Regency Culture and Tourism Office, Ainur RofiK SSos MM. In his presentation, Ainur said that Banyuwangi uses Osing culture as a regional identity because the Osing culture distinguishes Banyuwangi from other regencies.

“Because in marketing, there is a product differentiation. When we want to sell a product, it must be different from what other people sell. That’s why we raised Osing as a regional identity, because Osing distinguishes Banyuwangi from other regencies,” explained Ainur in the Airlangga Ethno Ecotourism webinar, Saturday, July 23, 2022.

Furthermore, Ainur revealed the tourism development in Banyuwangi using the concept of ecotourism. He explained that ecotourism is a development concept of tourism sector which is not only related to bringing in tourists to achieve economic value, but also to consolidating cultural infrastructure, the environment, and humanism and shaping human behavior.

Ainur also mentioned that the concept of ecotourism is a form of tourism development that utilizes and preserves the environment as a tourist attraction. It is a form of harmony between tourism development and environmental sustainability.

“Even though it’s been ten years we chose it as a tourism development concept, it turns out that after the pandemic, the ecotourism concept is the most popular and most appropriate post-pandemic,” he said.

Then, Ainur revealed that in developing tourism in Banyuwangi, Banyuwangi uses Komisi 3A key strategies: CEO commitment, innovation, accessibility, attractions, and amenities. He said the main key in developing tourism is the commitment of regional leaders.

“Talking about tourism is not enough just to be done or done by one sector, one department. Because tourism requires the integrity of a synergy from all sectors, there needs to be a CEO commitment regarding tourism development in an area,” he explained. (*)

Author: Wiji Astutik

Editor: Binti Q. Masruroh