ATTRACTING THE INTEREST OF JAPANESE CITIZENS, PT TWC HOLDS VIRTUAL TOUR WITH THE INDONESIAN EMBASSY IN TOKYO AND BKB

The tourism industry and creative economy in Indonesia and around the world have been hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. Vacations are now something that everyone in any part of the world longs for. Many people miss traveling and enjoying beautiful scenery and a different atmosphere without worrying about the pandemic.

To overcome this condition, many tourist destinations hold virtual tours. Through the social media they manage, these virtual tours can cure netizens' longing to travel even though only through their respective gadget screens.

Traveling virtually makes for a memorable experience, where tourists are invited to tour around personally to enjoy a tourist destination. In addition to staying safe and avoiding the risk of spreading the COVID-19 pandemic, this also provides a new euphoria in traveling in the digital era with sophisticated technology.

The Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo in collaboration with PT Taman Wisata Candi Borobudur, Prambanan & Ratu Boko (Persero) and the Borobudur Conservation Center held a Virtual Tour to Borobudur Temple, Saturday (17/10/2020). The event, which was broadcast live via the Instagram social media application, was also fully supported by the Borobudur Conservation Center.

This activity aims to introduce Borobudur Temple to Japanese people. "This virtual tour is our agenda to promote Borobudur Temple to the Japanese market. This tour also uses Japanese, so that Japanese people can directly enjoy the tour. Hopefully, this virtual tour can cure the longing of Japanese people to visit Borobudur Temple in person." explained the Corporate Secretary of PT TWC Emilia Eny Utari in her opening remarks for this virtual tour activity.

The Virtual Tour of Borobudur Temple, which was broadcast live via the Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo's Instagram social media account, was watched by almost 2700 netizens. In addition, ten Japanese citizens directly watched the virtual tour from the Indonesian Embassy in Japan. They were able to directly interact with the tour guide who was directly at Borobudur Temple.

The tour guide who directly uses Japanese explains everything from the origins of Borobudur Temple to several reliefs such as the Kharmawibangga and Lalitavistara reliefs. The guide also explains the existence of several mountains surrounding the Borobudur area as well as the existence of the Bodi Tree whose leaves resemble the shape of Borobudur Temple.

The Deputy of the Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo, Meinarti Fauzie, emphasized that this activity is an effective step in introducing the readiness of national tourism destinations to welcome foreign tourists when the pandemic is over.

"This virtual tour is part of the introduction of the Borobudur destination as one of the 10 super priority areas of Indonesia whose presence can be a magnet for foreign tourists, especially from Japan. Hopefully, through this virtual tour, the Japanese people can get to know more and see firsthand the readiness of the temple management in receiving foreign tourist visits, after the pandemic," he said.

President Director of PT TWC Edy Setijono said that tourism is one of the industries that can recover quickly. This is driven by the quarantine period which has hampered tourism movements. Therefore, promotional efforts must be carried out intensively to capture this recovery opportunity.

“Breakthrough steps need to be taken especially on social media platforms. Publication content needs to be intensified to be attractive and effective. We also have to build tourist confidence to visit. This is a top priority. We emphasize to them that this destination is a safe destination to visit. That is our main focus. Next, how to communicate it to the public.” He explained.