Pemanfaatan Media Baru dalam Menyelenggarakan Wisata Virtual di Masa Pandemi Covid-19

Abstract

Covid-19 pandemic that is occurred since March 2020 in Indonesia has had such a broad impact. In this research, the impact is limited to the tourism sector. To prevent the spread of covid-19, the government adopted various policies such as Pembatasan Sosial Berskala Besar (PSBB) to the Pemberlakuan Pembatasan Kegiatan Masyarakat Berskala Mikro (PPKM). As a result, most of community activities are conducted online from home. Tourist attractions are closed and people are no longer able to travel. Many people feel bored while at home. In order to continue to carry out tours, the government and tourist attractions managers are trying to ensure that travel can still be done even from home. The purpose of this research is how to use new media as an effort to provide tourism visits during the covid-19 pandemic. The research method used is qualitative descriptive research with literature study and observation approach. The result of this study shows that by using new media technology, the government and some tourism managers can provide virtual tours for the community. Virtual tourism can be an alternative for those who want to travel during the Covid-19 pandemic. By utilizing new media such as gadgets (smartphone, tabs), laptops, computers which is connected to the internet, people can roam from their homes to various tourist attraction in Indonesia with a relatively low cost and even free of charge. This virtual tourism also has potential to increase tourist visits in the new normal era.