UNAIR NEWS – The tourism sector has fallen into its worst due to the pandemic. However, in this new era, tourism is slowly starting to rise. Therefore, cooperation from various parties is needed to realize local tourism that is increasingly global.
In this regard, the D3 (Three-Year Vocational) Student Association (Hima) of the Hospitality Management Study Program, Faculty of Vocational Studies, Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR), held an international webinar entitled Nears!de (Sustainable East Java Tourism Dimensions in the Pandemic Era). The event was held from Wednesday, November 24, 2021, to Saturday, November 27, 2021.
On the first day, Frisca Taffana as the head of the event, said that a virtual tour is also important besides tourism accommodation. “After all, the visiting tourists are not only from local but also international areas. Therefore, we need a virtual tour strategy where we can travel online to develop our local tourism,” she said.
In line with Frisca, Jiwangga Hadi Nata S.E., M.SM., also said that a local tourism development strategy is needed because tourism is an important national economic potential. “Tourism contributes revenue to various national sectors such as accommodation, transportation, infrastructure, and all forms of services,” said the Advisor for Hima D3 Hospitality Management, Faculty of Vocational Studies UNAIR.
Jiwangga was also optimistic that local tourism would continue to grow. “Therefore, we need to work together to revive local tourism towards a global range. The government, industry, and the community, especially Generation Z and Millennials who are very active on social media, can take their respective roles to generate local tourism,” he said.
The UNAIR alumnus lecturer also emphasized that cooperation is the most important thing in supporting the revival of local tourism. “Cooperation from various parties is needed to support the rise of tourism after the pandemic,” he said.
As widely known, tourism has been affected by COVID-19 for two years. Delivering his speech at the event, the Dean of the UNAIR Faculty of Vocational Studies, Anwar Ma’aruf, drh., M.Kes, hoped that the event could add insight into the tourism industry.
“After tourism has risen, we will need a lot of strategies. Therefore, this event is important to increase our insight and optimism since we work for the tourism industry,” he said.
Prof. Dr. Bambang Sektiari Lukiswanto, DEA., drh., as UNAIR Vice-Rector, also said that the tourism sector must continue to grow optimistically. “Through this event, hopefully, tourism will develop along with digitalization,” he said.
Nearside was the first international webinar held by the study program. Through Nearside, Dian Yulie Reindrawati, S.Sos., M.M., PhD hoped that the local tourism sector would develop more. “Especially, to introduce more tourism in East Java,” concluded the Hospitality Management Three Year Vocational (D3) Program coordinator.
After the remarks, the Remo Dance was performed by the Ala Ganesh dance group on the first day of Nearside. The event was continued by presentations of great speakers in the tourism sector. The presentations were divided into several days until the last day.
On the last day, Nearside broadcast a cooking performance from one of the speakers, Ahmad Zainudin Hariadi, S.S. In addition, there was also a presentation by Ahmad. Nearside 2021 was closed with a virtual tour in Banyuwangi City, East Java.
Author: Fauzia Gadis Widyanti
Editor: Khefti Al Mawalia
