Depok-Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara, is one of the main destinations for the G20 Summit to be held next November. The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy (Kemenparekraf) has been preparing for the event for the past two years. The government is increasingly developing massive infrastructure to improve the quality of tourism in Indonesia. One of them is Rinca Island in NTT, which did not escape being a tourist destination at the conference.
This infrastructure development needs to be accompanied by increased awareness and branding Rinca Island, the application of the digital economy, digital content creation, and qualified human resources. Against this background, a number of lecturers from the Vocational Education Program at the Universitas Indonesia tried to accommodate them through community service activities supported by the Directorate of Community Service and Empowerment at the Universitas Indonesia (UI) and the UI Professional Certification Institute. The lecturers consisted of N. Rangga Wiwesa, S.I.Kom., M.I.Kom., CICS, MIPR; Dr. Rahmi Setiawati, S.Sos., M.Si.; Nailul Mona, S.I. Kom., M.Si.; and Nur Fadilah Dewi, MKM., helping the residents of Rinca Island, especially in Pasir Panjang Village, to support the sustainability of the program through outreach and education.
In the community service series, Rangga provided education on the importance of adjusting content production in the concept of segmentation, targeting, and positioning (STP), also understanding the unique selling proposition (USP). Pasir Panjang Village as part of the Rinca Island tourist destination. “As a tourist destination, Pasir Panjang Village must be ready to meet and improve the quality of tourism, especially with the upcoming G20 Summit,” said Rangga.
(Photo: Merchandise giving by N. Rangga Wiwesa, M.I.Kom., CICS, MIPR)
In the development of tourist villages, MSMEs also play an important role. Education was also given to local MSMEd actors about the importance of branding and packaging. Both need to be embedded in the implementation of entrepreneurship in the village. Not only to increase public awareness of the product, good and attractive branding and packaging also represent the quality of a product.
The use of digital media in the promotion process of tourist villages also needs to be taken into account, of course, while still upholding the application of ethics in social media. Digital literacy is important. In her educational presentation, Rahmi emphasized that the public needs to be alert to raise or trace the truth of the existing news so that hoax news can be minimized with good distribution of information. In addition, she also explained how to generate creative and interesting content ideas to promote Pasir Panjang Village while still instilling the principles of ethical social media.
(Photo: Merchandise giving by the Head of LSP UI, Dr. Rahmi Setiawati, S.Sos., M.Si.)
In infrastructure development and tourism village development, qualified human resources are needed, both physically and mentally. Based on data from the Indonesia Nutrition Status Study (SSGI) 2021, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) is included in the top 5 provinces in Indonesia with a high stunting rate.
For this reason, preventive measures are important as an initial treatment that must be carried out thoroughly. “In preventive efforts to prevent stunting, the first thousand days of a child’s life, stimulation of parenting, and the provision of continuing education are important phases in a child’s life. If this phase can run properly and thoroughly, it is hoped that it will support improving the quality of human resources in a healthy lifestyle without malnutrition,” said Dewi.
(Photo: Presentation by Nur Fadilah Dewi, M.K.M.)
The Director of the UI Vocational Education Program, Padang Wicaksono, S.E., Ph.D, said that the community service activities carried out by UI Vocational lecturers could help improve the quality of Indonesian human resources, especially for the purpose of developing tourist destinations. “Development of tourist destinations followed by the use of digital media is a brilliant choice to be realized in places that have potential and have selling points to increase the country’s foreign exchange,” said Padang.
