p–ISSN: 2723 - 6609 e-ISSN: 2745-5254

Vol. 5, No. 5 Mei 2024 http://jist.publikasiindonesia.id/

Jurnal Indonesia Sosial Teknologi, Vol. 5, No. 5, Mei 2024 2107

Digital Nomad and Analysis of Regional Economic Resilience

of Tourism Sector in Bali Province After Covid-19 Pandemic

*Correspondence

ABSTRACT

Active cases due to the COVID-19 pandemic that increased from 2020 to 2021

made almost all countries close or at least tighten their borders. The existence of

restrictions on human mobility, both from land, sea, and air, as well as the obligation to

carry out social distancing (social distancing), makes government agencies, offices, and

other public institutions adjust through the principles of "remote life". As workers

worldwide realize they are no longer physically attached to offices and desks, they are

now considering working remotely in "exotic" locations, instead of working from home

Nurina Noviarini, Palupi Lindiasari Samputra

Jurnal Indonesia Sosial Teknologi, Vol. 5, No. 5, Mei 2024 2108

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has also made the tourism industry in the

world sluggish, with restrictions on human mobility and the closure of national borders

to reduce the risk of spreading the virus. Travel restrictions imposed during the pandemic,

such as quarantine procedures that take days, certain vaccination requirements in certain

countries, and changing border entry and exit regulations, make it seem that the tourism

industry has come a long way to return to its pre-pandemic starting point.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a shock to Indonesia's economic resilience.

National resilience in the economic sector can be seen when the nation's economic life

maintains its independence. In economic resilience, economic aspects are related to

it is a medium for integrating programs and activities between development sectors, so

tourism is set to be a driver of development in Indonesia (Marlinah, 2017).

Before the pandemic struck, foreign tourist visits increased, making tourism one of

the second largest national export foreign exchange contributors after coal (Wijaya,

Sa’ban, & Nastia, 2023). According to a report from Bank Indonesia, the value of foreign

exchange receipts related to tourism and creative economy activities in 2019 was recorded

at 18.7 billion US dollars, or around 8.5% of the total foreign exchange receipts for

exports of goods and services, which reached 220.1 billion US dollars. This achievement

was mainly contributed by the expenditure of foreign tourists (tourists) related to travel,

which is 90% of the total spending. The largest expenditures mostly came from foreign

Therefore, innovative steps are needed to support the region's economic resilience,

especially in Bali Province. With the tourism industry taking a hit, affected stakeholders

need to implement breakthroughs in the tourism sector to save their economies. One of

the breakthroughs of the new type of tourism is digital nomad tourism.

This digital nomad phenomenon is fairly new for Indonesia and only emerged at

the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time, the government was not fully

aware that this phenomenon would continue, and it was predicted that more digital nomad

tourists would set foot and stay in Indonesia, especially Bali, for a certain period. Digital

nomads are expected to contribute to foreign exchange with longer stays and high

expenses. However, to optimize digital nomad tourism, the government needs a series of

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digital nomad in Bali is estimated to be able to encourage tourism recovery in Bali. This,

of course, can also play a role in increasing the economic resilience of the Balinese

people.

Some of the previous studies that the author collected discussed digital nomads, but

research still needs to address the impact on the resilience of Bali's regional economy.

Research by (Octavia, 2022), (Octarizal & Kosase, 2023) both discuss the legal side of

immigration with the digital nomad phenomenon. Then, research (Jiwasiddi et al., 2024)

examines the impact of digital nomads on the economy of Chiang Mai in Thailand.

Meanwhile, the research (Rahayu, Kusumastuti, & Puspitosari, 2022) (Rakhmadi, 2021)

entrepreneurial practices will radically change people's lives. The distinction between

work, leisure, home, and vacation will become blurred. As a result of economic

competition in the global market, companies will begin to adapt, and workers will be

forced to choose whether to live a life as settlers or nomads (Hermann & Paris, 2020).

According to Mouratidis (2018), the term digital nomad comes from "digital,"

which means related to the use of computer technology, and "nomad," which refers to

people who travel from one place to another without limits. Mouratidis added that digital

nomads who travel are generally driven by the motivation to vacation without abandoning

their work duties and responsibilities or "working while on vacation."

Digital nomad linguistically means "digital nomad" who can work anywhere and

qualitative information. Researchers seek to understand the meaning of events and their

relation to certain people and situations (Pohan, 2007).

The data collection technique carried out in this study is documentation. The author

has collected relevant data from e-books, websites, news articles, and accredited journals

for the last five years. The authors collected research data from December 2023 to

Nurina Noviarini, Palupi Lindiasari Samputra

Jurnal Indonesia Sosial Teknologi, Vol. 5, No. 5, Mei 2024 2110

February 2024. The following is a description of the data sources used in the study

concerning Martin and Sunley's (2020) conceptual model of regional economic resilience:

Table 1

Research Data Sources

No.

Regional Economic

Resilience Concept

Data Sources

Recovery

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Nurina Noviarini, Palupi Lindiasari Samputra

Jurnal Indonesia Sosial Teknologi, Vol. 5, No. 5, Mei 2024 2112

Canggu Village, Bali, as a favorite destination, received a score of 5/5 from 208

reviews, a perfect score reported by Nomadlist.com (Nomadlist, 2019). Following second

place is Seoul, which scored 4.7/5 out of 223 reviews. Ranked third in Bangkok, with a

score of 4.6/5 from 230 reviews. The Nomadlist website also included Ubud in 33rd place

with a score of 4.0/5 with 197 reviews and Seminyak Bali in 53rd place with a score of

3.89/5 from 177 reviews. Based on this assessment, Canggu has a large market share

potential to be used as a major digital nomad destination in Indonesia.

Of course, if the Indonesian government wants to attract digital nomad tourists to

visit Indonesia, Bali must be able to prepare its needs as a digital destination.

socialize with fellow professionals.

4. The availability of cafes and restaurants that provide a variety of vegetarian and

organic foods and menus.

5. Health facilities, pharmacies that are easy to find, and doctors who can be called by

phone or application.

6. The availability of nightlife venues as a place for them to have fun after work.

7. Good tolerance, friendliness, and openness of the local community to anyone who

comes to their place, as well as the habits of tourists from their home country.

Meanwhile, since the COVID-19 pandemic, the community and local government

can no longer rely on tourists for leisure and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions,

beverage services, meeting and working rooms, and the most important and main thing is

a special digital nomad visa facility, which until now has not been issued by the

Directorate General of Immigration (Antara News, 2022).

Tourism as a Support for Regional Economic Resilience of Bali Province

As explained in the theory of economic resilience, a country's economic resilience

can be reflected in the country's economic conditions, where the government can maintain

good, healthy, and dynamic economic stability and the ability to create national economic

independence with a high level of competitiveness and can realize just and equitable

people's prosperity. In this case, tourism, in particular, plays a role in supporting the

economic resilience of Bali Province, where through tourism, employment, the world of

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Through this, Bali Province is said to be independent in creating a healthy economic

atmosphere towards regional prosperity.

When referring to Martin and Sunley's (2020) conceptual model of regional

economic resilience, several things must first be mapped, namely the form of shock and

risk and the three phases of regional economic resilience: the resistance phase, the

reorientation phase, and the recovery phase.

According to Briguglio (2004), shocks can affect a region's economic condition

internally and externally. In this discussion, the shock in question is the COVID-19

pandemic, which affected the global and regional economies from 2019 to 2021.

COVID-19 pandemic due to the restrictions imposed. This condition is inseparable from

Bali's economic structure, which depends on tourism activities, including foreign tourist

visits. In 2020, foreign tourist visits to Bali decreased by 83.26% compared to the

previous year.

Resistance Phase

Resistance is the initial impact of the shock on Bali's regional economy. The

disruption of the tourism sector during the COVID-19 pandemic showed the resistance

phase, which slumped Bali Province in terms of economy. Many economic losses are

experienced by actors in the tourism sector (Lapointe, 2020). This is because, despite the

pandemic, the operational activities of tourist attractions are still running, such as

The COVID-19 pandemic has also caused the room occupancy rate to drop below

20%, the lowest since the Bali bombings. Declining tourism activity increased the open

unemployment rate significantly from 1.57% in 2019 to 5.63% in 2020. Furthermore,

Bali's poverty rate increased to 4.7% in September 2021, compared to the pre-pandemic

period of 3.6% (Adiwilaga et al., 2022).

Fase Reorientasi (Reorientation)

Reorientation refers to the ability of firms, workers, and institutions to adjust and

adapt to shocks. In line with the principle of resilience itself, it is not only about how to

deal with shocks from the outside but also related to adaptations made after shocks.

According to Obrist (2010), resilience at the regional level is included in the highest level,

Nurina Noviarini, Palupi Lindiasari Samputra

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where there is government intervention in the form of policies that then affect a group of

people in the region.

In the first quarter of 2021, Bali experienced the largest contraction of the five other

Super Priority Tourism Destinations (DPSP), around 9.85% (Ministry of Foreign Affairs

of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2021). Various steps have been taken by

the central government so that tourism in Bali returns to life, including the cancellation

policy of PPKM during the Christmas and New Year 2021 celebration period,

acceleration of vaccination in Bali to 70% for the first vaccine, and 18.69% for the second

vaccine in July 2021 (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign

health protocols. In addition, local governments anticipate foreign tourists exposed to

COVID-19 by preparing health facilities and medical personnel in various tourist

destinations. Cooperation is also implemented between local governments and the

Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy in implementing CHSE (Cleanliness, Health,

Safety, and Environmental Sustainability) in more than 1200 tourism industries in 2021

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2021).

The pandemic has also encouraged tourism businesses to shift products and

procedures. Implementing health protocols (physical distancing, regulation of tourist

attraction capacity, sanitation) is a top priority so that tourists feel safe and comfortable.

Airports and airline companies have also changed their tendency from only paying

beginning of the pandemic, one of which is digital nomad tourism. According to research

by (Wu, Chen, & Chan, 2020), remote work carried out by digital nomad travelers can,

in general, be an important engine that can help economic growth and stimulate tourism

to rise from lagging.

The COVID-19 pandemic impacts tourism development indicators, targets, and

achievements. Tourism companies and business actors adapt to tourism based on health

protocols, while the government responds to the contraction situation with policies that

encourage the rise of tourism. This aims to maintain the situation and conditions so that

contractions do not get worse; what is expected is a rebound (bending back).

Recovery Phase

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Recovery refers to the extent and nature of regional recovery from shocks. This is

marked by the beginning of the rise of tourism to Bali Province, with an increase in the

number of foreign tourists, up by 194.33 percent in Jan-Oct in 2023 compared to 2022 in

the same month (BPS Bali Province, 2023). In full, BPS data shows that 2023 between

January and October 2023, 4,388,698 foreign tourists have visited Bali, with Australia as

the largest contributor to tourists (BPS Bali Province, 2023). This number represents

46.24 percent of all foreign tourists to Indonesia.

Meanwhile, the Room Occupancy Rate (TPK) of star-rated hotels in August 2023

increased 22.27 points to 60.64% (yoy). Meanwhile, TPK for non-star hotels increased