Digital Storytelling for Ecotourism Development

Eli Jamilah Mihardja

, B. P. Kusumo Bintoro

, D. M. Putri

Universitas Bakrie, Jakarta

Keywords: digital storytelling, city branding, ecotourism, Pinrang

Abstract: City branding is the identity of the city that contains the pride of the population. This pride, for example,

can be found in uploads on social media, especially on Instagram. Therefore, a search of these accounts was

conducted to determine its potential in forming city branding. Qualitative content analysis was performed to

identify the strategy of the accounts - @insta-Pinrang, @pinrangkeren and @pinrangupdate - to see if they

could be used to popularise the tourist spots in Pinrang. Furthermore, the author has recognised the potential

of the accounts in ecotourism development objectives and the establishment of city branding in Pinrang.

The results of this study can be a reference for development planners on the strategies used in social media

to popularise the natural attractions and their potential in the formation of city branding.

1 INTRODUCTION

City branding is the identity of the city that contains

the pride of the population toward the city. This

study intends to (1) identify accounts and determine

their potential in forming city branding, and (2)

recognise the potential of these goals in ecotourism

development objectives and the establishment of city

branding in Pinrang.

Branding is a concept that is one of the important

points in marketing a product. Efforts to create

brands or branding can be undertaken both for

tangible components such as names, logos and

packaging as well as for those that are intangible,

such as atmosphere and image. Furthermore, the

brand concept can not only be implemented in a

product or service, but it can also be implemented

for an area. The scope of the area can be within the

borders of the country, islands, provinces and cities.

The results of the research conducted by the

researchers at TPP showed that if a country or city

has a superior brand that is different, authentic and is

of good quality, then it can improve the image and

competitiveness of the country or city.

Branding a city is necessary to provide an

identity for the city. With the existence of identity,

the city will have its own characteristics that,

ideally, are not owned by other cities. A city that

does not have uniqueness will not be remembered,

has no differentiation and will not be able to

compete with other cities. With a strong brand, a city

can "sell itself" and open up a wider employment

field, either through the benefits of tourism

(culinary, tourism, crafts, art and culture) or as an

educational centre, as well as offering an industry

advantage that has the potential to attract domestic

and foreign investors to the country. The impact will

have an effect on the increase of Original Regional

Income (PAD) and the welfare of the people.

Consumer behaviour and ethnographic studies

expert, Amalia Maulana, stated that strong brands

have three important components that are relevant,

where brands must fit the needs and wants of the

consumers or stakeholders. The brand must also be

distinctive, which is able to highlight its uniqueness

ad how it is different from its competitors. Third, the

brand must be consistent, and the brand must be able

to optimise and manage the uniqueness that is "sold"

so then it will always remain in the minds of the

consumers (Maulana, 2012: p.64). The central

government in recent years has intensively

encouraged local governments to undertake more

serious branding in various cities in Indonesia.

Mihardja, E., Bintoro, B. and Putri, D.

Digital Storytelling for Ecotourism Development.

DOI: 10.5220/0008820102650270

In Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Contemporary Social and Political Affairs (ICoCSPA 2018), pages 265-270

ISBN: 978-989-758-393-3

265

2 ECOTOURISM AND CITY

BRANDING

Building a brand in an area is the same as the effort

undertaken to create a particular image that is unique

to the region in question and at the same time, it is

an attempt to distinguish the region from other

regions. Brands such as those proposed by Louro

and Cunha (2001) are a multi-dimensional set of

attributes that consist of functional elements and

emotional, relational and strategic features where the

collection of all of the elements form a unique

association in the public's mind. (Aaker, 1996: p.68).

The association will, in turn, create a brand image or

a set of feelings and attitudes that the community has

about a brand (Aaker, 1996: p.70). In the context of

the region, local uniqueness will be the core benefit,

and the characteristics and culture will attract

potential stakeholders such as investors, residents

and tourists. Thus, the brand of a region may be the

region's competitive advantage.

The creation and management of city brands

requires integrated efforts. Regarding this matter,

Kavaratzis (2004) stated the need to adopt the

concept of corporate branding to manage the brand

of a city through an integrated approach of eight

elements of the city:

§ Vision and Strategy: Clarity about the

development and future of the city.

§ Internal Culture: All efforts must be oriented

to the management and development of the

city brand and these activities must be

internally entrenched.

§ Local Communities: Prioritise and involve

local residents, entrepreneurs and business

people in developing the city brand.

§ Synergy: Seeks agreements and support from

all related stakeholders in order to develop the

city brand.

§ Infrastructure: Prepare an adequate standard

infrastructure in accordance with the city

brand that has been declared.

§ City landscape: Setting up the city landscape

according to the established city brand.

§ Opportunities: Good urban infrastructure and

landscape can be a stimulus and an attraction

for stakeholders (migrants, tourists, business

people and local residents).

§ Communication: City brands are

communicated strategically and continuously

so then they are embedded in the minds of

stakeholders and become the strong identity of

a city.

Disseminating city brands that have been

declared through strategic marketing communication

activities are sustainable and involve all relevant

stakeholders. Conventional marketing

communication activities (advertisements in local,

regional and national print, local and national print,

television and radio) and digital marketing

communications (Instagram, blog, Facebook and

websites) are optimised. In relation to the

empowerment of local communities and branding

communications, there is an opportunity to establish

city branding through posting on Instagram

accounts.

The potential of ecotourism has been chosen as

an alternative branding strategy because ecotourism

has the opportunity to support sustainable

development. Wood (2002: p. 9) mentioned that

"ecotourism is responsible travel to natural areas that

conserves the environment and sustains the

wellbeing of local people." (The Ecotourism

Society, 1991). In addition, the IUCN (now called

the World Conservation Union) stated in 1996 that

ecotourism is "environmentally-friendly travel and

visitation to relatively undisturbed natural areas, in

order to enjoy and appreciate nature (and any

accompanying cultural features - both past and

present) that promotes conservation, socio-economic

involvement of local populations.”

3 METHODS

This study used qualitative content analysis

methods. In the literature, this method is generally

used in nursing studies. For example, the analytic

procedures are specific to each approach and there

are techniques for addressing trustworthiness with

hypothetical examples drawn from the area of end-

of-life care (Hsieh and Shannon, 2005). According

to them, content analysis is a widely used qualitative

research technique. The current content analysis

application shows three different approaches:

conventional, directed, or summative. Summative

content analysis involves counting and comparisons,

usually keywords or content, followed by

interpretations of the underlying context (Hsieh and

Shannon, 2005).

An analysis of the documents can also be a form

of fieldwork. For example, the analysis of

ethnographic content is briefly contrasted by the

conventional modes of analysis of quantitative

content to illustrate the usefulness of constant

comparisons to find patterns, emphasis, and themes

that appeared in the analysis of TV news coverage of

ICoCSPA 2018 - International Conference on Contemporary Social and Political Affairs

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Iran's hostage situation. The ethnographic

perspective may help to illustrate the pattern of

human action when document analysis is

conceptualised as fieldwork (Altheide, 1987).

Referring to this study, posts on Instagram accounts

are treated as document analyses to understand the

account owner's strategy in popularising Pinrang, in

particular, for places where ecotourism has potential.

In various forms of qualitative content analysis,

the theme of ‘search’ is the main one. This study

aims to identify the Instagram account strategy used

in popularising the destination.

As a sample, 3 Instagram accounts were chosen

bearing the name Pinrang, namely @pinrangupdate,

@insta_pinrang, and @pinrangkeren. Virtual

observations were done to find out the trends and if

any certain themes emerge from the posts

Furthermore, the results of the content analysis

were cross-checked with in-depth interview results

and document data from the Department of Tourism,

Youth and Sports in Pinrang District (dari Dinas

Pariwisata, Pemuda dan Olahraga Kabupaten

Pinrang). Field research was conducted in March

and July 2018.

4 DIGITAL STORYTELLING IN

INSTAGRAM

Digital storytelling in this study refers to the way

that the owners of the Instagram accounts who

popularised beautiful places in Pinrang tell their

stories about Pinrang. In communication studies, it is

noted that generally the digital story focuses on a

particular topic.

4.1 @pinrangupdate

This account reposts more varied content. In

addition to images of the Ammani Beach scene, for

example, @pinrangupdate also reposted places like

Puncak Karomba, PLTA Bakaru, and Soroja House.

This may be related to the tagline as an account that

presents "Tourism, customs, history and news."

Puncak Karomba is a spot in Pinrang that is

famous as the "Land in the Cloud", like the same

place in Tana Toraja. However, based on a

document search, Puncak Karomba does not include

the superior destinations of Pinrang Regency.

Subsequent searches through interviews with

officials in the relevant offices mentioned that

Puncak Karomba cannot be developed by the

government because it is owned by the private sector

and in a disputed condition.

Bakaru Water Power Plant is a dam and

irrigation source that irrigates Pinrang and the

surrounding districts. This place does not have

special access as a tourist spot, but the post-images

create curiosity and awe. Bakaru hydropower is not

included as a tourist destination based on the

Tourism Office documents.

Figure 1: Puncak Karomba

Figure 2: PLTA Bakaru

Digital Storytelling for Ecotourism Development

267

Figure 3: Rumah Soroja

Soroja's house is a kind of old royal house in

Pinrang. This spot is generally unknown. This spot

is also not included in the flagship destination. Field

observations show old houses that are not groomed

and that look mediocre.

The last three places mentioned are famous on

social media but are not commonly visited by local

tourists. There is no adequate access, bad

infrastructure and no management.

The post theme by @pinrangupdate during

January - June 2018 was focused on a place, activity

and cultural heritage. This can have the potential to

further enrich the insights into Pinrang.

4.2 @instapinrang

This account uses the tagline "Let's remember

Pinrang through photos”. They often use the 'photo

of the day' strategy that reposts other people's posts.

From January to June 2018, @instapinrang reposted

34 places that have beautiful scenery in Pinrang. Out

of all of the posts, the most posted were Kalijodoh

Waterfall, Itto Sarassa, Latta Pitu Waterfall and Air

Terjun Latta Pitu. In some posts, there are captions

included

1. The hills of Lembang area of Bungi village

“Buttu na buttu. Kampong na kampong salu

lattung tasi '.Ada 'sola Budaya.Sipulung manang

mancaji mesa wilaya, sanganna PENRANG /

KAB.PINRANG Dan KEC.LEMBANG” (The

area that you can enter as a tourist destination of

Pinrang Regency. Many hidden paradises in

here, but only a few know the conditions. Only

the government, who is unusual with that).

2. Wakka Beach

Jika kau adalah mentari maka bias senja yang

tersisa adalah kenangan tentangmu. Indah meski

kau sudah tidak ada - Fiersa Besari. (If you are a

sun, then the remaining twilight is a memory of

you. Beautiful, even though you are gone - Fiersa

Besari).

3. Waterfall Kalijodoh Pinrang

Alam semesta ini memiliki batas, tapi hikmah

yang bisa diperik padanya tak terbatas. (This

universe has limits, but the wisdom that can be

attached to it is infinite.)

4. Pantai Harapan (Ammani)

Menara tempat memantau ‘mantan’ (The tower

where you can monitor your ex.

Figure 4. Air Terjun Latta Pitu

Figure 5. Air Terjun Kalijodo

According to respondents interviewed, this

increases the attractiveness of the posts. However,

the existence of the caption may be due to reposting.

The captions also contain criticisms of the

government as seen in the post about the hills of

Lembang area in Bungi village.

The post theme of @instapinrang is more of a

view. The posts are also diverse, including beaches,

waterfalls, parks and artificial attractions such as

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floating houses. The number of posts and the

frequency of posting allows for more variation.

4.3 @pinrangkeren

Similar to @instapinrang, @pinrangkeren also

includes Latta Pitu Waterfall, Kali Jodoh Waterfall,

Karawa WaterfallLosita Beach and Ammani Beach.

However, what is not found in @instapinrang is that

@pinrangkeren contains posts about Peak Karomba,

and Lembang.

Scene. @pinrangkeren’s posts are all posts

containing photographs of people posing and not

merely the associated natural scenery.

Figure 6: One of the posts @pinrangkeren

This accommodates the need for people to use

social media to 'show themselves'. This is often

known as narcissism. This can be a strategy for

@pinrangkeren to get more viewers and followers or

also add human elements with the impression of

there being human activity in the intended place.

However, to this day, this assumption cannot be

checked by the manufacturer of the message because

the researcher has not received an answer.

5 CONCLUSIONS

The three accounts are a sample of the potential to

use Instagram as a forum for dissemination city

branding and for popularising ecotourism in Pinrang

Regency. The government and stakeholders can

cooperate with the account owners as influencers on

social media.

The storytelling strategy is carried out by reposts

and involves the participation of the accounts of

others who have travelled in Pinrang or who pay

attention to Pinrang. This participation is great social

capital to help to develop the potential of

ecotourism, further forming the Pinrang city

branding that is more integrative with all internal or

external parties of Pinrang.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research is funded by the Ministry of Research

and Higher Education through the scheme of

PDUPT for budget year 2018

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