Track: Business Management

Abstract

The Pandemic of Covid-19 affects several sectors, mainly tourism. The tourism entrepreneur should innovate and adjust to the current situation. It is necessary to maintain the sustainability of his enterprise. However, the number of visitors declined dramatically, but the tourism products can be sold online. Lasem, situated in Rembang Regency in Central Java, has some cultural tourism potential, especially the local creation of Batik Tiga Negeri (three Countries Batik). This study aims to describe the virtual tour of Batik Tiga Negeri, initiated by a Lasem heritage foundation collaborate with tourist agency, and the effect of its innovation in maintaining the sustainability of cultural tourism in Lasem. Three categories of social resilience based on Keck and Sakdapolrak’s theory were used to analize this result. This study found that (1) the virtual tour of Batik Tiga Negeri narrates the story of its batik and the process of colouring Lasem Batik in three areas so that it might attract the virtual tourists to donate as they wish; and (2) the contribution of tourists could help the sustainability of the batik maker in Lasem. The batik makers faced a declined income during the pandemic.