Symbolic Convergence and Community Based Tourism

Abstract

Based on Statistics Indonesia (BPS) data in 2018, Indonesian tourism villages have reached 1,734. It indicates that rural communities are significantly involved in the development, especially in the tourism sector. Tourism development based on the community is known as community-based tourism (CBT). During this tourism 4.0 era, CBT is required to use Information, Communication, and Technology (ICT). Previous research suggests that e-CBT is the precise form of involving CBT in the digitalization of the promotion, marketing, information exchange, and management aspects. There is a fantasy illustrating that e-CBT is a form of sustainability in confronting tourism 4.0. The focus of this research is CBT in rural areas or village communities that synergize tourism village management using ICT. The research method used is qualitative with a single case study approach. The theory used is the symbolic convergence theory to explain the dramatizing messages that occur in e-CBT. The results show that e-CBT used imaginative language in the form of wordplays so as to bring awareness to maintain local wisdom. Moreover, it was found that the role of social media started to be considered by the village community besides as a means of information exchange.