READINESS OF BALIKPAPAN CITY IN DEVELOPING SUSTAINABLE SMART URBAN TOURISM

• Main Author: Sfarliana, Frisda
• Format: Theses
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/71919
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

As one of the buffer cities of the State Capital established in East Kalimantan Province, Balikpapan City must be ready and resilient to face the impact of urbanization in serving local residents and visitors who will come by providing services from the tourism sector. Balikpapan City has an image as one of the livable, comfortable and sustainable cities in Indonesia. The image needs to be maintained so that the comfort felt by local people can also be felt in the experience of tourists when visiting Balikpapan City. The use of ICT in tourism services has become an important component in the tourism industry due to the current lifestyle of people who exchange information through websites or popular social media. However, digital technology innovation alone is not enough, a smart and sustainable tourism strategy is needed so that the city's environment is maintained, the quality of life of local people increases and so does the city's economy. This study aims to assess the readiness of Balikpapan City in the development of smart sustainable urban tourism seen from the existing conditions in the provision of smart sustainable infrastructure for urban tourism services and to assess the visitors' assessment of sustainable tourism services provided by using ICT innovation. The method is a combination method (qualitative and quantitative) with descriptive approach and PLS-SEM model. This study found that Balikpapan City in the developing sustainable smart urban tourism is still in the early stages of development seen from the availability of infrastructure of urban tourism service and each destination, the quality of information disclosure on the variety of tourist destinations recognized by visitors/tourists, and the influence of the use of ICT in sustainable urban tourism services. Therefore, Balikpapan City needs to accelerate immediately to be able to provide tourism services that aim to improve the quality of life and experience of visitors/tourists.