Author: Nyoman Sri Subawa et al
Affiliation: Associate Professor of Management, Universitas Pendidikan Nasional (Denpasar, Indonesia)
Organization/Publisher: Current Issues in Tourism/Routledge
Date/Place: December 22, 2020/UK
Type of Literature: Research Article
Number of Pages: 13
Link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13683500.2020.1870940
Keywords: Virtual Reality Marketing, Niche-Market, Sustainable Tourism, Economic Growth.
Brief:
New government regulations for health measures due to the Covid-19 pandemic have led to an unprecedented large-scale impact on the tourism industry in Bali, Indonesia, as access to tourist destinations has been restricted. Since March 2020, Bali has experienced a 95 percent decline in domestic and foreign visits. Therefore, the tourism industries’ actors are expected to adapt other marketing strategies to sustain the market, namely, virtual reality marketing (VRM). The study examines the use of virtual reality marketing as an alternative method for marketing tourism products in Bali, a well-known tourist destination in Indonesia. The authors describe the use of virtual reality marketing in three ways. First, VRM targets a niche market, in which the VRM is mostly enjoyed by people who pay more attention to health protocols—elderly and disabled tourists who are physically unable to visit the destination. The virtual trips also can trigger the desire or memory of those who have been to Bali and have intended to revisit it. Second, tourism industries are very sensitive to change or global threats such as terrorism or disease outbreak. Hence, due to travel restrictions during the pandemic, VRM is the new promotion strategy for a sustainable tourism by implementing the Virtual Reality Tourism. Third, as the Work-from-Home method and restrictions were introduced during the pandemic, it led to an increase number of information, sales, online shopping, and even virtual organizational events by 78 percent. Therefore, VRM has become a new method for tourism industry actors to continue promoting their products to boost economic growth.
By: Salman Nugraha, CIGA Research Intern
