On September 24th, 2021, Bukit Vista returns with the seventeenth series of the BV E-Talk, co-hosted by DSC Binus, HIMTA UI and MBW NHI Bandung on the theme “Adaptation in Tourism & Hospitality as the Needs of Customers are Shaped by the Pandemic”. On this occasion, Bukit Vista invited Stephen Ang, the Co-Founder of Wanderis and Anita Briana, Founder of Moana, to share their thoughts and insights, as well as their experience regarding the tourism and hospitality industry during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
As we all know, the Covid-19 pandemic has brought a lot of changes and adjustments in our lives, and this also applies without exception to companies in the tourism and hospitality field. Anita described how difficult it was for her company to adapt at the start of the pandemic, and mentioned a very interesting point about how it will impact tourism in general. The pandemic essentially changes the way people travel: there are a lot of policies, protocols and restrictions to adhere to, and there are even more uncertainties both service providers and travellers need to overcome. Ang agreed and explained further how, since the pandemic started, travelling has become a lot more complicated with all the documents one must prepare like swab test results and vaccine certificates. Not only that, people become more unwilling to plan ahead of time in fear that their plans are going to get cancelled in the end.
In order to counter that, Anita shared how Moana managed to persuade people to travel again. As a sustainable bicycle tour company, Moana offers their services as a getaway or healing time for people who are experiencing a lot of stress from staying at home by visiting destinations that are more private and close to nature. On the other hand, Ang explained that they try to make their potential customers feel safe to travel with them, not only in terms of sanitary and hygiene, but also by reducing uncertainties of travelling. Wanderis did this by making their services free of rescheduling and cancellation fees, and by limiting the number of guests per tour. Both agreed that guests need to first be rid of their worries and uncertainties before they are willing to travel again.
At the end of the E-Talk, Bukit Vista hosts a huddle session to allow more free and relaxed discussion between participants and the speakers. For more information about the contents of our E-Talk, you can watch the full session here.
As a start-up company in property management with 170+ properties spread across Bali, Yogyakarta and Nusa Penida, Bukit Vista is currently opening remote internship opportunities and full-time job vacancies for various positions. To register, you can visit our job landing page for a chance to experience the one and only Bukit Vista work experience!