Virtual Tourism Emerge as Industry Battles with Pandemic Restrictions

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Businesses in the tourism sector expressed that the coronavirus pandemic has greatly affected the industry and had forced them to extract every inch of creativity to not only survive but also generate income from traveling. 

“As we entered the pandemic we thought about how we could empower [resources] to keep traveling even if we’re at home. That was when virtual tours came up,” said Outing.id founder, Irwan Thamrin, on October 15 in one of Tempo’s virtual discussions.

“It turned out to be viral and many others have followed suit in creating virtual tours,” he added. 

Irwan Thamrin said that the concept of providing virtual tourism is able to empower people living in the vicinity of tourist destinations and tour guide communities as it is an alternative source of income amidst the times where people’s mobility is restricted.

The challenge in accommodating virtual tours, he said, is to constantly be able to provide interesting contents that would make the experience worth the client’s money. 

He argued virtual tourism has promising potential and is able to attract 50 participants in each virtual trip, on average. Despite currently focusing on the school students market, Thamrin said the company is always open to other clients that may come from corporations. 

Read: Govt to Grant Rp3.3tn for Tourism Business

EKO WAHYUDI