Analisis Website “Medan Tourism” Dinas Pariwisata Kota Medan sebagai Fasilitas Promosi Pariwisata di Kota Medan

Abstract

Tourism is an important sector in socio-economic development. With the advancement of digital technology, tourism development efforts can be optimized and enhanced. Medan, a municipality in Indonesia, has great tourism potential, including cultural, religious, historical, culinary, and eco-tourism attractions. As part of tourism development in Medan City, the Medan City Tourism Office launched the "Medan Tourism" website as a tourism promotion facility. The "Medan Tourism" website was introduced by the Medan City Tourism Office in 2023 as a technology-based promotional platform with the main goal of increasing tourist visits and widely introducing Medan’s tourism. However, the effectiveness of the "Medan Tourism" website as a promotional facility still needs to be further examined due to limitations in features and a lack of regular updates to both features and content. The aim of this research is to determine the effectiveness of using digital technology on the “Medan Tourism” website as a supporting facility in promoting tourism in the city of Medan and is expected to contribute to the development of tourism in the city of Medan. This study employs a qualitative descriptive approach using a Framework Matrix analysis technique, utilizing both primary and secondary data sources. The results of the study indicate that the "Medan Tourism" website has several strong features, such as a Virtual Tour, 360-degree tour camera, photo gallery, digital maps, voice-over, and engaging content. Nevertheless, the website also presents several weaknesses, including limited interactive features and suboptimal management of content and features. Despite these shortcomings, the "Medan Tourism" website holds significant potential as a tourism promotion facility in Medan City.