The Utilization of Digital Technology to Enhance the Effectiveness of Tourism Promotion Management: A Study at the Kutai Timur Regency Tourism Office

Abstract

The acceleration of digital transformation in the public sector has had a significant impact on tourism governance, particularly at the regional level. This study aims to analyze how digital technology is used to improve the effectiveness of tourism promotion by the East Kutai Regency Tourism Office, East Kalimantan. The study focuses on strategies for using digital platforms, factors influencing technology adoption, achieved results, and recommendations for developing digital promotion in the regional public sector. This research uses a qualitative descriptive method, collecting data through interviews, document analysis, and field observations. The theoretical framework used includes the concept of Digital Government, the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) model, and the Balanced Scorecard approach to assess alignment between digital strategy and promotional performance. The research findings indicate that the East Kutai Tourism Office has undertaken various digital initiatives, such as managing social media accounts (Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok), developing an official website, and promoting multimedia campaigns for tourist destinations. These initiatives have successfully increased the visibility of several leading destinations. However, key challenges include limited human resources, low digital literacy, suboptimal inter-agency coordination, and uneven internet infrastructure across tourist areas. Furthermore, the lack of specific performance indicators (KPIs) has resulted in suboptimal evaluation of the effectiveness of digital promotion. Nevertheless, collaboration with local communities and young people in digital content creation has shown positive results and can serve as a model for sustainable promotion. The study concludes that the success of regional tourism digital transformation depends heavily on organizational readiness, leadership commitment, human resource capacity building, and cross-sector collaboration. Key recommendations include developing an integrated digital marketing strategy, improving digital literacy, and strengthening ICT infrastructure to support data-driven tourism promotion.