PROPOSED MARKETING STRATEGY TO INCREASE VISITOR REVISIT INTENTION AND WILLINGNESS TO RECOMMEND CILETUH-PALABUHANRATU UNESCO GLOBAL GEOPARK

• Main Author: Afifah Ghina Luqyana, Refa
• Format: Theses
• Language: Indonesia
• Subjects: Manajemen umum
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/76477
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Tourism is a social, cultural, and economic phenomena that involves people moving to countries or areas beyond their usual environment for personal, business, or professional reasons. The tourism industry is one of main contributor to Indonesia’s economic growth and employment. Ciletuh-Palabuhanratu UNESCO Global Geopark (CPUGGp) is a tourism destination which offers nature-based and cultural tourism. After the significant drop of visitors in 2019 until 2020, CPUGGp sees rapid growth of visitors to the area by 271.5% in 2022. The sharp increase in the number of visitors can be attributed to the revenge tourism trend that occured in Indonesia. As visitor play an important role in the development of the tourism area, CPUGGp want to maintain or even increase the number of visitors coming to the area. Therefore, this research will focus on finding areas that can be improved by CPUGGp and propose suitable marketing strategy to increase visitor’s revisit intention and willingness to recommend the area that will potentially lead to acquiring visitors. The external and internal analysis is conducted in order to formulating the strategy. External analysis consists of PESTEL analysis, five forces analysis, and customer behavior analysis. For internal analysis, this study used Marketing Mix 7p. The quantiative methodology were used in customer behavior analysis with total sample of 165 respondents. A questionnaire was used to collect information related to factors that influence tourist’ behavioral intention to revisit and willingness to recommend. The data from the customer research was analyzed using Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The result show that perceived value and satisfaction variable have positive significant direct influence on tourists’ behavioral intention. Meanwhile, destination image and perceived service quality has positive indirect and significant influence on behavioral intention through satisfaction as a meditor variable. Based on the external and internal analysis, the author summarizer the analysis using the SWOT matrix, which is then formulated through the TOWS matrix and generate new marketing strategy for CPUGGp. The proposed marketing strategy consists of optimizing the use of owned media to promote each tourists’ attractions unique points, cooperate with the government in leveraging official media platforms to communicate timely weather updates, precautions, and alternative i indoor activities to visitors, provide clear information about the ticket price of available tourists’ attractions using CPUGGp’s website and social media, provide sanitization and service quality training for locals, provide a culinary area within the geopark that offer comfortable place with local specialties food and panoramic scenery, and provide rest-areas or shelter within the geopark that could be used by the visitors to avoid unpredictable weather and share this information in CPUGGp’s owned media and information board within the geopark.