Components of Product Industry Tourism at North Sumatra

Onan Marakali Siregar, Selwendri

and Afrila Mulyati Siregar

Department of Business Administration Science, Faculty of Social Science and Political Science,

Universitas Sumatera Utara, Jl. Prof. Dr. A. Sofyan No. 1 Kampus USU, Medan, Indonesia

Keywords: attractions, amenities, accessibility, North Sumatra

Abstract: Attraction is one of the reasons tourists visit tourist attractions. The attractions offered by tourist objects must

be sustainable with the facilities and accessibility of these attractions. The selection of attractions must be

accompanied by adequate access and following what was previously offered by tourism managers for tourists.

The selection of attractions, especially ecotourism attractions, must emphasize the culture of the local

population which is the hallmark of the residents around the tourist attraction. Definition of ecotourism

activities offered provides insight and experience following the true definition of ecotourism. The

combination of culture and attractions makes tourist objects have different specifications from other tourist

objects. Qualitative analysis in measuring the structure of tourism industry management in North Sumatra is

expected to be a benchmark for the sustainability of ecotourism in 4 tourist attractions, namely Medan City:

Urban ecotourism or Mangrove ecotourism, Sicanggang. Belawan Langkat Regency: Ecotourism, Bukit

Lawang. Karo Regency: Ecotourism of Bukit Barisan Forest Park (Tahura) Tobasa Regency: The Caldera

Toba Nomadic Escape Ecotourism, Sigapiton, Ajibata, Toba Samosir Regency.

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

Tourism is currently an interesting topic to be raised

in various research topics because tourism is one of

the largest industries that contribute to the country's

foreign exchange earnings, namely each tourist or

foreign tourist spends an average of 1,100 US dollars

to 1,200 US dollars per visit. In addition, tourism is

also the second-largest contributor to Gross Domestic

Product (GDP) receipts. Even tourism according to

the World Tourism Organization (WTO) is predicted

to continue to develop, with an average growth in the

number of international tourists of around four per

cent per year (Pitana and Gayatri, 2005).

Along with the tourism developments predicted

by the WTO above, the WTO also mentions that there

is a new trend in tourism activities. This tendency is

marked by the development of a new lifestyle and

awareness of tourists towards a deeper appreciation

of the values of the relationship between humans and

their natural environment which is specifically shown

through concern for ecological problems (this

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5305-5641

ecological problem is related to environmental

problems such as environmental pollution). and

resource depletion), the advancement of science and

education, as well as the emphasis and appreciation

of community values (Ariyanto, 2003). This change

in the tendency of national tourists and foreign

tourists to visit tourist destinations that offer nature as

their main attraction is in accordance with the

prediction that was called by The International

Ecotourism Society in 2000 that there were more than

633 million tourists in 1999 worldwide and will

continue to do so. increasing for the next two decades,

the growth in the number of tourists is an average of

4.1% per year.

The tourist trend in tourism is referred to and

known as ecotourism, where ecotourism is the

practice of traveling to relatively less exploited

natural destinations to appreciate nature, gain

knowledge about wildlife, enjoy local culture in

authentic settings and preserve the environment of

tourist destinations. or tourist destinations (Lee & Jan,

2019, Khanra, et al 2020). The main principles of

ecotourism focus on active contributions in

conserving natural resources, integrating local

300

Siregar, O., Selwendri, . and Siregar, A.

Components of Product Industry Tourism at North Sumatra.

DOI: 10.5220/0011566500003460

In Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Social and Political Development (ICOSOP 2022) - Human Security and Agile Government, pages 300-306

ISBN: 978-989-758-618-7; ISSN: 2975-8300

 2023 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. Under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

wisdom into ecotourism planning and improving

community welfare, and organizing tourists in small

groups (Zong, et al 2017).

Ecotourism in its tourism activities, namely by

visiting unspoiled places for learning/research

purposes, and also to fill leisure/recreational time

(Wallace and Pierce, 1996) of course requires

attractions, amenities (facilities) and accessibility.

Where these three components are the most important

attributes of tourism products in tourism

development. This is where managers are required to

be able to manage the three attributes of tourism

products, so that they can attract, fulfill desires, and

make it easier for visitors or tourists who will make

tourist visits to a tourist destination. Attractions are

the main attraction of a tourist destination, while

amenities are supporting facilities for a tourist

destination, while accessibility makes it easier for

visitors or tourists to visit a tourist destination. These

three attributes of tourism products make a tourism

destination successfully developed (Yeoti, 2002).

1.2 Problem Formulation

Based on the research background that has been

described previously, the problems raised in this

study:

1. How the tourism attribute process plays a role in

developing 4 tourist objects, namely Medan,

Langkat, Karo and Toba Samosir.

2. What is the role of Attractions, amenities,

Accessibility in attracting tourists to visit 4

tourist attractions in North Sumatra.

1.3 Specific Objectives

Based on the formulation of the problem described

above, the objectives of this study are:

1. To determine the combination of product

attributes in ecotourism destinations in North

Sumatra that meet the wishes of tourists per

segment.

2. To find out the preferences of tourists in each

segment to the level of importance of the

attributes in ecotourism destinations in North

Sumatra.

1.4 The Urgency of The Research

Accordance with the USU Research Master Plan

(RIP) regarding Social and Cultural Law and

considering the importance of carrying out or the

urgency of research in accordance with the USU RIP

concept of thought, concerning the issue of

Community Social Life (Life, Social, Politics,

Economy, Culture, and Religion) Community-

Thought, Cultural Exploration, Preservation,

Utilization, Prospects and Its Development), namely:

1. For academic purposes, this research will

contribute to the emergence and development of

studies on the development of ecotourism

destinations in 4 (four) areas in North Sumatra

Province.

2. For the benefit of ecotourism destination

managers, this research will provide practical

contributions related to policies and strategies

for developing the tourism sector of ecotourism

destinations to increase tourist visits to tourism

destinations.

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Tourism Component 3A

There are three main requirements that a tourist

destination must meet to attract tourists, namely:

1. "something to see" means that the tourism object

must have something that can be seen or made

into a spectacle by tourist visitors. In other

words, the object must have a special attraction

that can attract the interest of tourists to visit a

tourist destination.

2. "something to do" is so that tourists who do

tourism there can do something useful to give a

feeling of pleasure, happiness, relaxation in the

form of recreational facilities, be it a playground

or a place to eat, especially the typical food of

the place so as to make tourists more

comfortable.

3. "something to buy" the place must provide

souvenirs such as local crafts that can be bought

as mementoes or souvenirs to take back to the

place of origin of tourists. These souvenirs are

usually objects that characterize a particular area

(Sunaryo, 2013).

In addition to the three main requirements

according to Sunaryo (2013) mentioned above,

Spillane (1997) and (Yoeti, 1997) state that the

parameters of a good tourist destination to become a

good tourist place to achieve the tourism industry

depend on three A (3A), namely attractions,

accessibility, and amenities.

a. Attractions

Tourist objects and attractions include the main

attraction of natural, cultural and artificial wealth,

Components of Product Industry Tourism at North Sumatra

301

such as events that are often called special interest

tours. Tourist destinations to attract tourists must

have an attraction, both natural and community and

cultural attractions. All creations of God Almighty,

are in the form of natural conditions and flora and

fauna, such as natural scenery, beautiful panoramas,

jungles with tropical plants, and rare animals. In

addition, human works in the form of museums,

ancient relics, historical relics, cultural arts, agro-

tourism (agriculture), water tourism (air), adventure

tourism, recreational parks, and entertainment venues

are also tourist attractions.

Meanwhile, Yoeti (1996) explains that tourist

attractions are everything in a tourist area which is an

attraction so that people want to visit a tourist

destination. The types of tourist attractions include:

1) objects that are available and contained in the

universe which in terms of tourism Natural Facilities

such as weather, land configuration and landscape,

fauna and flora, health centre like mud baths and hot

springs; 2) manmade supply which includes:

historical, cultural, and religious objects; And 3) a

way of life where the traditional way of life of a

society is a very important resource to offer to

tourists. How his life habits, customs, everything is

powerful for tourists.

b. Amenities

Amenity includes supporting tourism facilities which

are: accommodation, restaurants (food and beverage),

retail, gift shops, money exchange facilities, travel

agencies, tourist information centres, and other

convenience facilities. Accommodations that tourists

want include hotels and restaurants that are easily

accessible and can fulfil the wishes of tourists during

their visit. Furthermore, Pitana and Diarta (2009)

explain that destination/amenity facilities are

elements in a destination or related to destinations

that allow tourists to stay at the destination to enjoy

or participate in the attractions offered. Destination

facilities can be in the form of accommodation,

restaurants, cafes and bars, transportation including

rental of transportation equipment and taxis, as well

as other services including shops, salons, information

services and so on.

c. Accessibility

One of the important infrastructure components in a

destination is accessibility. According to Oka A.

Yoeti (2008: 171) "accessibility is all the facilities

provided not only to potential tourists who want to

visit, but also the convenience as long as they travel

in tourist destinations". Meanwhile, according to

Lutfi Muta'ali (2015: 180) "accessibility is a measure

of the ease of a location to be reached from other

locations through the transportation system.

Measures of affordability or accessibility include the

ease of time, cost, and effort in moving between

places or regions. Accessibility includes

transportation system support which includes: the

availability of transportation routes such as roads or

connecting bridges, terminal facilities, airports, ports

and other modes of transportation. Accessibility is

intended so that domestic and foreign tourists can

easily reach their destination tourist attractions.

The accessibility of a destination is a function of

various factors such as changes in aviation industry

regulations; entry visas and permits; route

connections, airport hubs and landing slots; airport

capacity and curfews; competition between

operators; and the character of other forms of

accessibility of transportation modes. After arriving

at a destination, tourists also need to be able to gain

easy access to tourist sites and other resources. While

in a destination, the accessibility of tourism resources

is influenced by broad economic, social, political or

physical factors. While the tourism industry may seek

to improve internal accessibility, its influence occurs

in the context of other, broader factors.

2.2 Product Industry Tourism

The first characteristic to consider in marketing

tourism products is that services are more than

tangible goods. Intangibility creates difficulties and

markets and meets tourist expectations. Culture,

regional heritage, photos, videos, geographical

features, and landscapes are psychographics as well

as physical experiences that are challenges for

tourism managers in adjusting to existing

expectations and realities. Table 1 summarizes

several tourism studies with the elements or

dimensions used for research.

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Table 1: Tourism industry product research summary.

The linkage of attractions, accessibility and

amenities in marketing is expected to understand the

wishes of tourists and develop tourism potential by

integrating tourist objects in North Sumatra.

2.3 Ecotourism

According to Chiu, Chan, and Marafa (2016)

ecotourism is defined as a new form of nature travel

that places greater emphasis on natural experiences,

learning and the emerging environment. According to

Stamation, Liampas and Drosos (2020) Ecotourism is

environmentally responsible travel and visiting

pristine areas that are relatively undisturbed, to enjoy

and appreciate nature (and all accompanying cultural

features) that promote conservation, has negative

impacts. low visitor numbers, and provide active

social activities that benefit the local community's

economy. In the development of ecotourism,

community participation is needed to participate in

the development and management of ecotourism

destinations.

According to Wondirad, Tokach, and King,

(2019) Community-based ecotourism is a type of

tourism that emphasizes community participation and

control in promoting the development and

management of ecotourism in the area. This

ecotourism development not only generates financial

benefits but also conserves local environmental

resources by encouraging low-impact and non-

consumptive use patterns (Choi et al, 2020).

3 RESEARCH METHODS

Subjects of this research are tourists who visit eco-

tourism destinations in Medan City, Langkat

Regency, Karo Regency and Toba Samosir Regency.

The selection of these four areas is based on the:

1) existence of ecotourism destinations in the areas

2) There a strong will from the local government to

develop ecotourism destinations.

This research was conducted with a qualitative

approach. Primary data was obtained by the FGD

technique and then analyzed by data triangulation.

Research informants were obtained by purposive

sampling. The selected informants are increasing

focused and in line with the direction of the research

focus (Given, 2008).

Secondary data was obtained through relevant

documents such as books, previous research journals,

and information obtained from the research location.

The research instruments used in this study were: (a)

Interview Guidelines; (b) Field Notebook; and (c)

Recorder (Recorder). The data collection technique

used is a strategic step that researchers use to obtain

data, namely: (a) literature study; (b) In-depth

interviews; (c) Observation; and (d) Documentation.

4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

Parameters of new tourism objects according to

(Yoeti, 1994) to become a tourist destination that the

achievement of the industry depends on three A,

namely attractions, accessibility, and amenities.

4.1 Attractions

Based on the four research objects, it was found that

the attractions in the four areas are as follows:

- In Medan City, the attractions or tourism objects

based on ecotourism are Urban ecotourism or

Mangrove ecotourism, which is located in the

Sicanggang area, Belawan

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- Furthermore, Langkat Regency found an attraction

or ecotourism tourism object, namely Ecotourism,

Bukit Lawang.

- While in Karo district there is Ecotourism in the

Bukit Barisan Forest Park (Tahura)

- And the last one is in Tobasa Regency: The Caldera

Toba Nomadic Escape Ecotourism, Sigapiton,

Ajibata, Toba Samosir Regency.

The attractions that tourists expect in the four

attractions are in Table 2.

Table 2: Attractions on the object of research.

Based on the findings of the four research objects,

the attractions offered have similarities from one

place to another. Other attractions such as natural

conditions and weather are the reasons tourists visit

these four attractions.

The natural attractions of North Sumatra,

especially Lake Toba and the diversity of flora and

fauna contained in it are the reasons for tourists to

visit or conduct research on existing tourist objects,

such as Bukit Lawang and Tahura which often used

as research locations for foreign tourists. Like Bukit

Lawang which is one of the centers for observing

forest people in Indonesia

4.2 Accessibility

Access/facilities that can make it easier for tourists to

go to tourist destination locations are transportation

facilities, terminals, ports, airports, road directions

and others.

Table 3: Accessibility to research objects.

The four research objects that offer ecotourism

tourism in Sumatra have the same weakness, between

access from and to locations that are not entirely

paved roads. Like in Bukit Barisan ecotourism

(tahura) the signposts for directions to the location are

very minimal. This is different from the Toba

ecotourism, where the construction of a toll road is

currently being carried out to make it easier for

tourists to come and return to the city of Medan.

The construction of this toll road will also shorten

the travel time from the city centre to the Toba

Caldera ecotourism. One of the reasons for the

difficulty of developing access to and from tourist

objects in this study is that the road to these attractions

is a causeway which is the responsibility of the

provincial government of North Sumatra, while

according to informants in this study, the existing

collaboration is only temporary and unsustainable.

This makes many ecotourism locations that used to be

excellent for foreign tourists to become neglected and

no longer in demand.

4.3 Amenities

Amenities are tourism supporting facilities which

include: accommodation, restaurants (food and

beverages), retail, gift shops, money exchange

facilities, travel agencies, tourist information centres,

and other convenience facilities. Accommodations

that tourists want include hotels and restaurants that

are easily accessible and can fulfil the wishes of

tourists during their visit. As for ecotourism, there are

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tourist objects in the 4 research locations, the facilities

listed in Table 4 are as follows:

Table 4: Facilities on the object of research.

Based on Table 4, the facilities in ecotourism in

the four research objects are adequate. Meanwhile,

according to some information other than attractions,

facilities are the reason tourists make repeat visits to

existing ecotourism.

4.4 Discussion

Based on the findings in this study, where this

research was carried out on four ecotourism objects

in North Sumatra using triangulation data, it was

found that tourist expectations, and perceptions, were

in accordance with the locations as shown in Table 5.

Table 5: Data Matrix Analysis.

Table 5 describes the data analysis on this

ecotourism, only the Bukit Barisan Ecotourism

(tahura) which is currently neglected and is no longer

an object of interest for tourists. The reduced flora

and fauna as well as supporting facilities such as

children's playgrounds and unmaintained sanitation

are the reasons tourists are reluctant to come to visit

again. As for tourists visiting those who come in

groups to do outbound.

Meanwhile, for the other three objects, such as the

ecotourism of Sicanggang, Bukit Lawang and Toba

Caldera, until now they are still the choice of tourists,

both local and international. Ecotourism can still be

developed and marketed even better with the

cooperation between existing stakeholders.

Attractions, amenities and facilities make ecotourism

a tourist choice. Natural and cultural conditions are

special characteristics for tourists who make an

impression on their minds.

5 CONCLUSIONS

Tourism will form good economic growth in tourism

objects and regions/cities towards tourism objects.

Tourism products are not only the location of tourism

activities, including lodging, buildings, festivals,

shopping places, merchandise, culture, flora and

fauna, geographical to historic locations. Tourism

products are defined as tourism activities carried out

based on stakeholder encouragement for both local

and international tourists.

Ecotourism is a part of tourism that is very

changing, influenced by the number of visits, and

management, and still paying attention to natural

conditions and natural changes. Land and building

structures that affect the flora and fauna ecosystem in

Components of Product Industry Tourism at North Sumatra

305

ecotourism. Basically, apart from culture and other

attractions, flora and fauna are a factor for tourists to

come to visit. Tourists' expectations for promotions

carried out and exploring nature into tourist objects

must be in accordance with what the tourism object

has to offer. One of them is North Sumatra which has

many natural attractions.

North Sumatra is one of 10 provinces that are

prioritized for ecotourism development through

tourism in the Caldera Toba Nomadic Escape

Ecotourism, Sigapiton, Ajibata, Toba Samosir

Regency. If the stakeholders are able to collaborate

well, it will create a tourism environment between

tourist objects that run well with one another. Where

the location of these four attractions is around the city

of Medan which is the capital of the province of North

Sumatra. Based on the findings, there are several

strategies to create a sustainable tourism

environment, namely: (1) adequate access to and

from tourist attractions (2) support from all

stakeholders both local governments, and travel

agents, to tourism managers (3) forming a board of

directors. tourism awareness groups (pokdarwis), (4)

the formation of a positive image as a marketing

method based on the views of tourists.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thank you to the LEMBAGA PENELITIAN

UNIVERSITAS SUMATERA UTARA who has

provided the research funding in the scheme of

PENELITIAN DASAR 2021 so that this research can

be conducted and published.

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