The Effectivity of Virtual Tour as an Alternative of Ecotourism Method. A Case Study of Tambora National Geopark, Indonesia
Diah Rahmawati, Alpiana, Joni Safaat Adiansyah

Mining Engineering Department, Engineering Faculty, Universitas Muhammadiyah Mataram, Mataram, Indonesia

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has an impact on the tourism sector. Virtual tours become an alternative to adapt to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Geotourism Festival held online in June 2020. However, the virtual tour presented has not yet touched on environmental conditions such as endemic flora, fauna, landscapes, and ecosystem services. This paper is aimed to find out the prospect of a virtual tour as an alternative method for ecotourism in Tambora Geopark. The method used in this paper is interviews with Tambora^s Geopark Managers and virtual tour participants at the Geotourism Festival Event. The results were analyzed using SWOT analysis to obtain a virtual tour effectivity. Virtual tours can be accessed internationally and provide information about the entire geopark area. A virtual tour^s disadvantage is high cost. It requires many video/documentary films to present the whole geopark area. virtual tour is effective to promote ecotourism in Geopark Tambora. A virtual tour can be at home activity during the Covid-19 pandemic. Virtual tour can be a source of knowledge not only in Geology but also in Environmental and socio-economic fields.

Keywords: ecotourism- Tambora Geopark- virtual tour

Topic: Life Sciences