A collaborative initiative to help local businesses in the tourism sector affected by the pandemic, with the name “Doctor Servant (DM)”, was successful on 26-27 June 2023. This event involved a number of academics and business practitioners from various faculties at Universitas Brawijaya who participate in providing innovative solutions for the “Bersukaria Tour” tourism business based in the Old City of Semarang.
This activity was initiated by a number of academic figures, including Inggang Perwangsa Nuralam, SE, MBA., Ph.D from the Faculty of Administrative Sciences (FIA); Priandhita Sukowidyanti Asmoro, SE, MSA from FIA; Hanifa Maulani Ramadhan, S.AB., M.AB. from the FIA; Nurlita Novianti, SE, MSA., Ak from the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB); and Fitrotul Laili, SP, MP from the Faculty of Agriculture (FP). Together, they work with “Bersukaria Tour,” a company engaged in tourism in the Old City of Semarang.
Since the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020, the worldwide tourism sector has faced major challenges. The city of Semarang is no exception. Bersukaria Tour reported a significant decline in the number of tourists visiting Semarang Old City from 2020 to 2022, which had a direct impact on their business. One of the problems faced is the decline in service users and the relevance of business processes to the current tourism conditions. In addition, another challenge faced is in terms of social media marketing, where Bersukaria Tour is still experiencing problems in building strong interactions with its potential customers.
In order to overcome these challenges, the Doctor Serving (DM) team offers a solution in the form of assistance in preparing lean canvases (LC) and value proposition canvases (VPC) to identify and provide recommendations regarding what values are needed by consumers. In addition, an effective social media marketing strategy was proposed, focusing on creating content on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, as well as improving the quality of content on the Bersukaria website.
Inggang Perwangsa Nuralam from FIA said, “We are sure that with a holistic and innovative approach, businesses in the tourism sector can recover from the negative impacts of the pandemic. The collaboration between academics and business practitioners in the Doctoral Servant (DM) event is a clear example of how academic knowledge can be applied to solve real problems in the business world.”
It is hoped that this event will not only provide a short-term solution for Bersukaria Tour, but also become an inspiration for other businesses in the tourism sector to adapt to changing times and answer existing challenges.
