MOBILE WEBSITE DESIGN AS A TRAVEL PLANNING MEDIA WITH THE GEN Z HABITS APPROACH IN SEARCHING FOR INFORMATION(CASE STUDY: GORONTALO BEACH TOURISM)

• Main Author: Rara Rizky Purnamasari, Dewi
• Format: Theses
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/87450
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

The lack of interactive and visually engaging information about beach tourism destinations in Gorontalo poses a challenge, especially for Generation Z, who are accustomed to receiving information through social media. Generation Z, as a generation that grew up in the digital era, has unique characteristics in accessing and processing information. They tend to rely on online platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube to seek travel recommendations, plan trips, and share their experiences. Unfortunately, the available information about beach tourism in Gorontalo remains unappealing, unstructured, and lacks interactive elements, making it insufficient to fully meet Generation Z’s needs for optimal travel planning. This study aims to design a mobile website that not only provides comprehensive travel information but also features interactive elements tailored to Generation Z’s preferences, such as collaborative trip planning and social media integration. The research employs the design thinking methodology, which consists of five key stages: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test. In the initial stage, user needs were identified through questionnaires and in-depth interviews to understand their preferences and expectations regarding a digital tourism platform. The findings from this stage were then analyzed and used in the mobile website prototyping process. The results indicate that Generation Z requires tourism information presented in an attractive visual format, easily accessible layouts, and interactive features that allow users to collaborate in planning their trips. Additionally, they seek features that enable them to share their travel experiences through social media, making documentation and sharing more convenient. The website developed in this study underwent user testing to evaluate its effectiveness and usability. The evaluation results showed that the mobile website effectively assists Generation Z in planning their trips more efficiently and enjoyably. In conclusion, this website not only serves as an information platform but also as a collaborative and social travel planning tool. With features that align with Generation Z’s needs, this platform is expected to enhance their interest in Gorontalo’s beach tourism destinations and provide a more engaging and interactive trip planning experience. This study also offers insights for the development of similar digital platforms that can be applied to various other tourist destinations in Indonesia.