Webinar: “Embassy Crisis Management & Tourism Strategy Dealing with COVID-19 Pandemic – Lesson Learned from New Zealand”
Webinar: “Embassy Crisis Management & Tourism Strategy Dealing with COVID-19 Pandemic – Lesson Learned from New Zealand”. COVID-19, which has not been over in several countries in the world, has paralyzed several sectors including the tourism sector. Moreover, many cases of positive confirmation of COVID-19 are imported cases which are transmitted from people who traveled from affected countries.
Therefore, almost all countries close travelling access to prevent the spreads. It, then, makes the tourism sector declined significantly. Then, what happen to the tourism sector after entering the new normal era? Will the condition of tourism rise again or remain worse?
Telkom University, through Directorate of Strategic Partnership & International Office continued to hold webinar under the topic: “Embassy Crisis Management & Tourism Strategy Dealing with COVID-19 Pandemic – Lesson Learned from New Zealand” by inviting the ambassador of Indonesian Embassy in Wellington, New Zealand Accredited to Samoa and the Kingdom of Tonga, and travelling ambassador for Pacific, H.E. Mr. Tantowi Yahya.
The webinar was successfully guided by the manager of Strategic Partnership of Telkom University, Soni Fajar Surya Gumilang, S.T., M.T. In this occasion, joining also the Rector of Telkom University who delivered the welcoming speech, all four vice rectors, seven deans of each faculty of Telkom University and hundreds of participants from both internal and external.
New Zealand, one of successful countries which win over the COVID-19 pandemic, has entered new normal and run the vital sectors normally, including tourism sector. They now can live without applying mask and physical distancing anymore. According to the explanation of H.E. Mr. Tantowi Yahya, the first case reported in New Zealand was on February 28th, 2020. However, New Zealand had prepared themselves since the 1st case announced by WHO in Wuhan, China, December 2019.
For 2 months, New Zealand observed and studied the case to prepare and decide which step must apply when the Covid-19 entered New Zealand. They succeed to overcome Covid-19 by applying 4 alert levels: 1) Level 4: ELIMINATE (26 Mar – 27 Apr), 2) Level 3: RESTRICT (28 Apr – 13 May), 3) Level 2: REDUCE (14 May – 8 June), and 4) Level 1: PREPARE (9 June – present).
In term of tourism sector, New Zealand still persist during the pandemics because total tourist spending in New Zealand is around NZ $41 Billion (NZ $24 billion coming from domestic tourist and NZ $17 billion from foreign tourist). It means that, domestic tourist is higher than the foreign one because New Zealand government encourages his citizen to visit tourism spot in New Zealand.
Two best strategies to raise the economic sector in New Zealand are the campaign “Buy Local” and “Visit Your Own Backyard”. During this new normal, those campaigns also encourage all New Zealanders to spend more not to save more to help each other rise economically and psychologically by promoting 4 working days. It aims to facilitate New Zealanders to have more time to travel. Various promotions, packages of tourism are promoted over the social media that makes the marketing cost lower.
What we can learn from New Zealand dealing with Covid-19, under the command of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern:
- New Zealand was able to identify and plan the best strategy before Covid-19 attacked New Zealand
- New Zealand successfully applied 4 alert levels and other rules-based which according to the fact and its condition.
- New Zealand has compassionate and resolute leader who can communicate with a simple word yet easily to be understood by the citizen.
- New Zealand can adapt to the rapid changes.
- New Zealand encourages all citizen to “Buy Local” and “Visit Your Own Backyard” to prepare the new normal era in order to rise the economy and tourism sectors.
In short, don’t worry too much about the new normal era, embrace it happily by always implementing health protocols. “This pandemic makes us live in a dark sea, but don’t worry, we do have a map,” – Jacinda Arden.(IO)***
