THE EMPOWERMENT OF POKDARWIS (TOURISM-LITERATE GROUP) AT THE DINOYO CERAMIC VILLAGE IN MALANG THROUGH VIRTUAL TOURISM DEVELOPMENT

Abstrak: Perkembangan kampung keramik Dinoyo sebagai kawasan wisata edukasi sangat penting. Pandemi Covid-19 membuat kunjungan wisata dan omset menurun drastis, literasi eduwisata virtual dibutuhkan. Penyiapan eduwisata virtual oleh Kelompok Sadar Wisata (Pokdarwis) Kampung Wisata Keramik Dinoyo (KWKD) strategis untuk menggairahkan kembali wisata kampung keramik Dinoyo di masa pandemi. Oleh karena itulah, pengabdian kepada masyarakat ini dilakukan penguatan eduwisata virtual pada Pokdarwis KWKD. Penguatan dilakukan dengan sosialisasi dan curah pendapat untuk eksplorasi potensi KWKD, pelatihan pembuatan eduwisata virtual, dan pelatihan pemanfaatan media sosial sebagai media edukasi dan promosi. Sosialisasi eduwisata virtual dan curah pendapat dengan Pokdarwis dan perangkat kelurahan KWKD dilakukan secara luring di kawasan KWKD. Pelatihan penyusunan eduwisata virtual dilakukan secara luring dan dilanjutkan secara daring dalam grup pelatihan. Hasil yang diperoleh melalui pengenalan sejarah keramik Dinoyo, tumbuh antusias di kalangan anggota Pokdarwis dan berharap kermaik Dinoyo dikenal seluk beluknya oleh genaris muda. Pelatihan membuat disain eduwisata virtual dilakukan dengan memanfaatkan aplikasi yang dapat diunduh dengan mudah di gawai. Hasilnya berupa beragam poster untuk berbagai kepentingan, seperti edukasi tentang keramik dinoyo, promosi produk kermaik dinoyo, informasi program atau event yang melibatkan atau diselenggarakan KWKD. Pelatihan pemanfaatan media sosial sebagai media prosmosi dan edukasi dilakukan dengan menganali algoritma kinerja media sosial sehingga Pokdarwis dapat meningkatkan jumlah pengikut media sosialnya. Eduwisata virtual diharapkan dapat meningkatkan gairah ekonomi kampung keramik Dinoyo. Abstract: It is critical to develop the Dinoyo ceramic village as an educational tourism destination. Tourist visitation and turnover have decreased significantly as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, necessitating the development of virtual Edu-Tourism literacy. The Tourism-Literate Group’s (Pokdarwis) development of virtual Edu-Tourism at the Dinoyo Ceramic Village (KWKD) is critical in reviving tourism in the village during the pandemic. Therefore, this community service was carried out to empower virtual Edu-Tourism at KWKD. The group empowerment activities included socialization and brainstorming on KWKD potentials as an educational tourism destination, training on how to create virtual Edu-Tourism, and training on how to utilize social media for educational and advertising purposes. On-site socialization of virtual Edu-Tourism and brainstorming with authorities from Pokdarwis and KWKD took place. The training for virtual Edu-Tourism began offline and continued online in training groups. The introduction of Dinoyo’s ceramics history resulted in increased enthusiasm among Pokdarwis members and the hope that young generations would become more familiar with Dinoyo’s ceramics. The training for creating a virtual Edu-Tourism design was conducted via a smartphone application. Diverse posters for various reasons were successfully developed throughout the training, including instruction about Dinoyo ceramics, promotion of Dinoyo ceramic products, and information on activities or events involving or hosted by KWKD. The group was trained on how to use social media as an advertising and instructional medium by identifying social media performance algorithms in order to boost their social media followers. Virtual Edu-Tourism is anticipated to increase economic interest among members of the Dinoyo ceramic community.