Digital transformation for micro, small, and medium enterprises to develop sustainable community-based marine tourism

Abstract

Marine tourism is a leading commodity in Indonesia, including East Java Province. However, many believe that tourism development can cause multiplier effects on social, economic, culture, industry, and technology. Therefore, Community-Based Tourism development is needed to suppress the negative effects of those phenomena. Tourism development can be supported by MSMEs (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises), but unfortunately, they were paralyzed due to the Covid-19 pandemic at the beginning of 2020. During this unfortunate time, all sectors were forced to stop their activities. In this case, digitalization is a strategy that MSMEs must take to maintain the continuity of marine tourism in the new normal. This study aims to discover the role of MSMEs, the role of youth, and the digitalization process in developing marine tourism objects at Bangsring Beach. This qualitative descriptive study was conducted by interviewing the surrounding community at Bangsring Beach (Banyuwangi, East Java). The results showed that MSMEs and youth played a role in developing marine tourism objects on Bangsring Beach. Furthermore, the youth dominated the digitalization process of this development.