Improving Educational Tourism Marketing by Utilizing Website

Abstract

Tourism in Indonesia has developed rapidly both in terms of quality and type of tourism. Manado State Polytechnic has the potential to become a tourist destination as an educational tourism destination. As one of the providers of vocational education, Polytechnic has research results that can be used as learning materials or used by the community. Therefore, it is necessary to create an educational tourism destination so that people can learn from the Manado State Polytechnic. Promotion of tourist destinations through websites is expected to reach many people. Therefore, this research aims to determine the factors that influence the use of websites to build educational tourism destinations. To achieve this goal, qualitative research methods were used. The data collection technique uses in-depth interview techniques. Through Focus Group Discussion (FGD) to obtain the required information. The informant determination technique uses a determination technique based on the researcher’s subjective considerations (Sugiyono, 2012). The validity test technique uses a triangulation test, namely a technique for checking the validity of data by comparing it with other sources. The analysis method uses the SWOT analysis method, namely strengths and weaknesses from within as well as opportunities and threats from outside. This research uses a descriptive qualitative format to qualitatively describe the Canvas Business Model. Designing a Canvas Business Model to identify elements of website formation based on data from the results of discussions in Focus Group Discussions (FGD) and field observations. The results obtained show that there are opportunities for the development of educational tourism on a wider scale, greater interest from the younger generation and increased tourist satisfaction with this form of recreation. The application of the canvas business model on educational tourism websites can be a guide for campuses in implementing the concept of educational tourism and other academics to develop ideas that combine educational tourism with tourism.

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Mandey, N. , Alelo, M. and Tenda, M. (2023) Improving Educational Tourism Marketing by Utilizing Website. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 11, 607-617. doi: 10.4236/jss.2023.1112040.

1. Introduction

Through the Tri Dharma of Higher Education, higher education institutions play a role in transferring knowledge to society through counseling and training so that it can be applied in real life. Apart from that, universities are also required to no longer just be “ivory tower” products, but also need to open themselves to technological advances and the needs of society in the present and future. Carrying out tourist visits is one of the needs of society that has to be responded to by universities in Indonesia (Sulaiman et al., 2019; Mahadewi, 2018) .

In recent years, universities have become tourist attractions for the public, especially for those who want to know more about universities. These people are usually students in class 2 or 3 of Vocational High Schools (SMK) or General Education (SMU) who aim to find a place to study in the future. Universities will introduce various Study Programs and the various facilities they provide such as Sports Fields, Classrooms, Dormitories, Cafes and programs implemented by the campus. Apart from that, they are also introduced to campus life, from lectures to the degree they will hold when they finish. Therefore, the potential of universities is very large, especially if it is supported by the number of tourist participants which continues to increase every year. This will be an indicator that more and more tourists are interested in this university. This will of course also have a very good influence on the development of the university and the tourism industry in the area.

According to Law 10 of 2009, there are 4 elements that make a place a tourist destination. First, it has an attraction, whether created or existing. Second, it has good road access and transportation to the tourist spot (accessibility). Third, it has facilities that support tourist needs (Infrastructure) such as hotels, cafes or associations such as ASITA (Indonesian Travel Company Association), PHRI (Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association). Fourth, it has community empowerment, namely people who have been taught about hospitality in order to be able to entertain tourists well. It is hoped that this tourist destination will run well if all of this is fulfilled (Robustin et al., 2020) . This is supported by several research results regarding the importance of this in the tourism industry, such as Hinlayagan (2023) showing that the quality, value of accommodation and access are very important factors. Geographical areas have an attraction for tourists (Komilova et al., 2021) . Therefore, it is important for every tourist destination to pay attention to things like the above. One part of a tourist destination is educational tourism which is a combination and complementarity of educational elements and recreational elements.

Manado State Polytechnic as one of the vocational education organizing institutions in Indonesia has various kinds of research outputs and community service. Most of these results have received both national and international recognition. However, only certain groups can read and see the results. In order to reach a wider audience, promotion needs to be carried out, including through educational tourism. With educational tourism, people can learn and see firsthand the process of achieving this. Promotion can be done, among other things, by building a website that has a wide reach, anyone can access it unlimited times, anytime and anywhere.

North Sulawesi is a tourist destination that is quite busy with tourists, both local and foreign. However, a special destination for educational tourism has not yet existed, therefore the idea of building an educational tourism destination at the Manado State Polytechnic will add to the tourist destinations in the North Sulawesi area. Because this tourism is unique and has not been found in North Sulawesi, a concept and business model needs to be developed. This is where the novelty of this research lies, namely that no empirical research has been found regarding educational tourism in North Sulawesi.

This research aims to develop the concept of an e-platform business model for educational tourism. This concept is presented based on the Business Model Canvas (MBC) concept. Another aim is to build collaboration with regional and national government institutions as well as private organizations at national and international levels. This collaboration is realized in integrated activities that enable the creation of products used by tourists.

2. Educational Tourism

Education or Education is a planned effort in order to create an atmosphere and learning process for students to be active, develop their potential so that they have religious spiritual strength, self-control, personality, intelligence and skills needed by society. Educational tourism is special interest tourism that combines recreation and education. A tourist trip that provides an overview or comparative study of the field of work visited. Another word is study tour or knowledge visit trip.

Educational tours are usually carried out together with groups consisting of several people to a certain place to gain direct learning experiences related to the location visited. Educational tourism is a tourism activity carried out for one day, a form of tourism activity that emphasizes educational content to meet the needs and motivation of tourists to gain knowledge while traveling (Rodger, 1998; Malihah & Setiyorini, 2014; Sari, Rahmawati, & Harafani, 2019) . The concept of educational tourism in scientific literature has been considered as a phenomenon of integration between education and tourism, namely by organizing tourism as part of educational activities to achieve goals and to be able to fulfill the targets determined by the curriculum which is focused on the formation and development of individual qualities (Dembovska et al., 2016) .

Factors that can be used as an environmentally based educational tourism destination such as: regional potential, agrotourism areas based on food security, horticulture can be used as edutourism (Sulaiman et al., 2019) , an area that has unique characteristics such as a typical Dutch nuance (Priyanto et al., 2018) , Geopark area (Hardoyo et al., 2016) . Conservation areas (elephants and so on) (Febryano & Rusita, 2018) , combining recreation with learning at vocational colleges such as Vocational Colleges and Polytechnics (Rahmani & Rahayu, 2022) . Another characteristic is usually motivated by the search for education, the main goal is to explore education and this activity will be a learning experience (Ojo et al., 2019) . In general, educational tourism activities include: exchange programs for high school students, universities, both domestic and international, or participants in seminars or conferences (Corigliano, 2011) .

The decision to travel internationally for education is influenced by socio-cultural factors of educational tourists, seeking career development, and the economic status of the country of origin (Ojo et al., 2019) .

On the other hand, the benefits of educational tourism through participation in internships and self-practicing various forms of tourism (ecological, cultural, religious, etc.) can contribute to the development of competencies, skills and positive behavioral patterns that determine the formation of a winning mentality, creative individuals, innovators, with the power of creative behavioral models for colleagues (Malihah & Setiyorini, 2014) .

3. Market Need for Website in Educational Tourism

The use of digital platforms and creative content can be an effective educational tool according to the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy/Tourism and Creative Economy Agency (Kemenparekraf/Baparekraf) to attract the trust of tourists so that they can return to travel in Indonesia. Since the Covid-19 era, Indonesia has started preparing itself by conducting a campaign on social media with #DreamNow #TravelTomorrow. Dreaming is the first step in preparing yourself when you don’t have Covid anymore to travel. The next campaign with #DiIndonesiaAja is inviting tourists to travel within the country.

The use of e-platforms brings many benefits, both for tourism service providers and tourists. Examples of benefits are presented in Table 1.

Website have become tourism support products because of the ease of reaching potential tourists as well as being a tool to attract product and service providers, because although they are not always directly related to tourism, what may be needed during a tourist trip, which are called second level service providers (eg. catering, entertainment, cultural or medical services).

Digital marketing includes search engine optimization, electronic mail, online advertising, electronic message, has easy interaction with consumers, is quite cheap, has a fast time to promote products/services, and can reach consumers who broad, the ability to go viral, interactive communication and responses and reviews can be provided at any time (Warmayana, 2018) .

Table 1. Benefit of e-platform the service providers and tourist.

Source: Result of research, 2023.

4. Business Model Canvas

The model presented was built using the Business Model Canvas (BMK) template to organize the key elements of the proposed project. The Business Model canvas allows to describe key areas such as identifying clients, channels to reach them and mutual relationships. In the initial design phase of the educational tourism e-platform, BMK has enabled the rapid creation of various possibilities for its functioning and the creation of as many ideas as possible about the value that can be offered to consumers, how it is delivered and how to make payments. Thanks to the BMK application, it is possible to determine a business model proposal for an educational tourism electronic e-platform along with its components.

The Business Model Canvas is a business model that describes how an organization produces, delivers and captures the value of a business/industry (Osterwalder et al., 2010; Wijaya & Indriyani, 2016) . The business model framework is in the form of a canvas and consists of nine boxes containing interrelated elements.

1) Customer Segments: A company must decide which segments to serve and which segments to ignore.

2) Value Proportions: Describes the combination of products and services that create value for specific customer segments.

3) Channels: Describes how a company communicates with its customer segments and reaches them to provide its value proposition.

4) Customer Relationship: Describes the various types of relationships that companies build with specific customer segments.

5) Revenue Streams: Describes the cash the company generates from each customer segment.

6) Key Resources: Describe the most important assets needed for a business model to function.

7) Key Activities: Describe the most important things a company must do for its business model to work.

8) Key Partnerships: Describes the network of suppliers and partners that make the business model work.

9) Cost Structure: Describes all costs incurred to operate the business model.

5. Research Methods

This research uses a qualitative research format, namely a process that tries to gain a better understanding of the complexity that exists in human interactions (Sarwono, 2006) . The research method that will be used is a descriptive research method. Descriptive research is a qualitative depiction of facts, data or material objects that are not in the form of a series of numbers, but in the form of language expressions or discourse through precise and systematic interpretation.

Data collection techniques were carried out using in-depth interview techniques. In-depth interviews are a method of collecting data face to face directly with informants which can be carried out intensively and repeatedly (Bungin, 2004) . Individual in-depth interviews were conducted with several experts. This study was conducted in May-July 2023. The experts are people involved in organizing tourism for tour guides which will be organized by the Manado State Polytechnic as part of the Polimdo educational tourism project. The most important factor influencing the selection of experts is their professional experience in tourism activities, more specifically in the framework of collaboration with a large number of partners who support educational tourism at the Manado State Polytechnic. This project is funded by Polimdo which involves existing partners from both inside and outside the Polimdo campus. Partners consist of local authorities, tourism and sports organizations, NGOs operating in the tourism sector, MSMEs. The core partners are those from within Polimdo, namely the Polimdo student startup.

The overall idea of this project is to create an attractive educational tourism area by establishing a comprehensive educational tourism management that combines marketing together with brand development, service and infrastructure improvements.

The technique for determining informants uses the purposive sampling method, namely the technique for determining informants based on the researcher’s subjective considerations (Sugiyono, 2012) .

This research was conducted using the Focus Group Discussion (FGD) method. The purpose of the interview is to get answers to the information that must be on the e-platform. What is meant by e-platform in this research is a website that will be used to support the promotion of educational tourism. Usability assessment of its potential function for tourist guides, products to be displayed, spatial planning and road maps. This study is to prepare what information should be on electronic platforms from the perspective of vocational education tourism experts. The website’s functions must include tour operators as well as students and all those involved in educational tourism. Thus, it is hoped that the website will provide potential benefits for all its users.

The validity test technique uses a triangulation test, namely a technique for checking the validity of data by comparing it with other sources (Moleong, 2014) .

The analysis method uses the SWOT analysis method, namely strengths and weaknesses from within as well as opportunities and threats from outside. This research uses a descriptive qualitative format to qualitatively describe the Canvas Business Model. Design a Canvas Business Model to identify elements of website formation based on data from the results of discussions in Focus Group Discussions (FGD) and field observations.

The idea to create this model was based on several reasons such as the demand and supply needs of the tourism market and the belief that the Business Model Canvas (BMK) could serve as a useful managerial tool for presenting the concepts developed. The decision to use BMK was because it had the advantage that it could be used in the educational tourism segment.

The Business Model Canvas is used to describe key areas such as what will be offered to consumers, how to make payments and so on (Figure 1).

6. Business Model Canvas for Website in Educational Tourism

The formulation of the educational tourism website business model proposal was built using the Business Model Canvas template (Rahmani & Rahayu, 2022) . This method makes it possible to describe the main areas, identify clients, mutual relationships and channels to reach them. In the early phases of the design of the educational tourism website, model Canvas business has made it possible to create as many ideas as possible about the value offered to consumers, how it is delivered and how to make payments (Figure 2).

7. Market Need for Website in Educational Tourism

The use of website brings many benefits, both for tourism service providers and tourists. As a tool to reach potential tourists, website are a tool that attracts product and service providers. Even though it is not always directly related to tourism, it is necessary during a tourist trip, namely a second level service provider, for example catering, entertainment, cultural or medical services.

The studies carried out made it possible to prepare a ranking of the information that should be present on websites, from the point of view of their usefulness for tourist guides—from the highest to the lowest) and a ranking of the functions that websites have.

Table 2 presents the results of the interviews and rankings carried out, sorted

Figure 1. Stages of research activities. Source: Results Processed by Researchers, 2023.

Figure 2. Canvas business model for educational tourism platform. Source: Results Processed by Researchers, 2023.

Table 2. Functions of information in tourism education e-platform.

Source: Result of research, 2023.

from highest to lowest level of usefulness regarding information functions and websites.

The most important information according to experts is about the service including the price. Information on tourist attractions and a calendar of cultural events both on campus and near campus are important.

The least important are the contact details and the link to the web site. Both of these are not part of the educational tourism service, and their usefulness will probably only increase as educational tourism becomes more widely known. Likewise, the translation of websites into foreign languages is considered quite low, this may be because the tourism reach is still domestic or, if there is, it has not yet reached foreign tourists.

The experts were also asked about the difficulties in the process of creating and using websites for educational tourism. They point to a lack of funding for development and administration, which can hinder the active use of e-platforms that must be continuously updated as well as inadequate support from the authorities. Among the potential benefits of participating in an electronic platform for educational tourism, experts unanimously point to the availability of a calendar of cultural events available on campus or around campus, being the best way to promote educational tourism in North Sulawesi and integrate it with other local tourism. Facilitating travel arrangements and reducing costs will be beneficial for all parties (Strulak-Wójcikiewicza et al., 2020) .

8. Conclusion

In recent years, it can be seen that the internet has become increasingly important in tourism, including educational tourism. This is mainly because tourists are used to using the internet in various areas of life through the use of mobile phones, laptops and so on.

In the opinion of the informants, consolidating the service offerings available to tourists via websites could be a solution to this problem and provide potential benefits for users. The high popularity of website used in various areas of life, as well as research results, show that the use of the internet in educational tourism must be considered.

There will be more opportunities for further development of educational tourism on a wider scale, greater interest from young people and increased tourist satisfaction with this form of recreation. The application of Business Model Canva for website for educational tourism can serve as a guide for campuses to implement the concept of educational tourism, as well as other academics to develop ideas that combine educational tourism with tourism.

Acknowledgements

Thank to Manado State Polytechnic for supporting this research.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this paper.

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