An elderly-friendly tourism management model in Berastagi

Abstract

Abstract

Elderly-friendly tourism is becoming increasingly important as the elderly population increases, but many tourist destinations do not yet provide accessibility and services that meet the needs of this group. Previous studies have placed more emphasis on the development of theoretical frameworks, while implementation in the field is still limited and often does not take into account the social realities of tourist destinations. This study analyzes the elderly-friendly tourism management model in Berastagi by identifying obstacles in terms of accessibility, facilities, services, and safety based on the direct experience of elderly tourists. A mixed method  approach is used to obtain layered data, but this study consciously emphasizes more on a qualitative approach because the main focus is to explore the meanings, perceptions, and subjective experiences of the elderly as the basis for the formulation of management models. The survey of 100 elderly tourists only serves as a comparison to enrich qualitative analysis, in-depth interviews and participatory observations. The findings show that there is a gap between the availability of facilities and real access felt by the elderly, especially related to transportation, health services, and training of tourism workers. Based on these findings, this study offers a management model based on universal design and inclusive tourism that emphasizes policy integration, adaptive infrastructure, and improving service quality as a strategy towards sustainable elderly-friendly destinations.

Abstrak

Pariwisata ramah lansia menjadi semakin penting seiring dengan meningkatnya populasi lanjut usia, namun banyak destinasi wisata belum menyediakan aksesibilitas dan layanan yang sesuai dengan kebutuhan kelompok ini. Studi sebelumnya lebih banyak menekankan pada pengembangan kerangka teoritis, sementara implementasi di lapangan masih terbatas dan sering tidak mempertimbangkan realitas sosial di destinasi wisata. Penelitian ini menganalisis model pengelolaan wisata ramah lansia di Berastagi dengan mengidentifikasi hambatan pada aspek aksesibilitas, fasilitas, layanan, dan keselamatan berdasarkan pengalaman langsung wisatawan lanjut usia. Pendekatan metode campuran digunakan untuk memperoleh data yang berlapis, namun penelitian ini secara sadar memberikan penekanan lebih kuat pada pendekatan kualitatif karena fokus utama adalah menggali makna, persepsi, dan pengalaman subjektif lansia sebagai dasar perumusan model pengelolaan. Survei terhadap 100 wisatawan lansia hanya berfungsi sebagai pembanding untuk memperkaya analisis kualitatif dari wawancara mendalam dan observasi partisipatif. Temuan menunjukkan adanya kesenjangan antara ketersediaan fasilitas dan akses nyata yang dirasakan oleh lansia, khususnya terkait transportasi, layanan kesehatan, dan pelatihan staf wisata. Berdasarkan temuan tersebut, penelitian ini menawarkan model pengelolaan berbasis desain universal dan pariwisata inklusif yang menekankan integrasi kebijakan, infrastruktur