Yogyakarta, the Graduate School (SPs) of Gadjah Mada University held an open examination for doctoral promotion for Lastiani Warih Wulandari from the Tourism Studies Program at the Auditorium of the Postgraduate School, on Tuesday (29/10/2019). On this occasion, Wulan presented the results of her dissertation research entitled Community Empowerment Model and Ecospa Tourism Partnership in Nglanggeran Tourism Village Gunung Kidul Yogyakarta. Wulan said that spa health tourism has great potential because Indonesia has the advantage of supporting ingredients for spa treatments and human resources for spa therapists. A new innovation in the spa industry sector involves empowering and uplifting the value of local wisdom to form spa traditional health ecotourism (ecospa tourism). Therefore, Wulan chose a tourist village in Nglanggeran Village to analyze the concept of community empowerment models in achieving a level of sustainability that focuses on relationships or fostering relationships that are more focused on developing the spirit of marketing in order to achieve sustainable marketing.
The results of Wulan's dissertation research, namely trust and commitment, empowerment, social bonding, empathy, and communication are dimensions that are indicators of community empowerment models and ecospa tourism marketing partnerships which are also related to upstream and downstream linkages. The upstream factor is a backward linkage factor in the form of 3P (people, planet, and profit) which has an influence on partnerships in community empowerment. Meanwhile, the downstream referred to is the forward linkage factor in the form of 4Ps (product, price, promotion, place). Upstream and downstream are factors that are closely related to the partnership (partnership) for the development of ecospa tourism marketing.
Wulan recommends from the results of this dissertation that further research is needed on community empowerment models and ecospa tourism marketing partnerships, because there are still many potential tourist destinations in the Yogyakarta Special Region that have not been touched by ecospa tourism. Because ecospa tourism is the first step in innovation and creativity of traditional spas in marketing and adding to tourist attractions and can also influence the linkage of higher quality spa businesses with community empowerment models and marketing partnerships.
The results of the dissertation were presented so well by Wulan that she passed her doctorate with honors of Very Satisfactory. (SPs / Azrina)