Dean of the Faculty of Tourism, Universitas Pelita Harapan (UPH), Prof. Dr. Diena Mutiara Lemy, A.Par., M.M., CHE., was inaugurated as Professor of Tourism Services Management on Thursday, October 21, 2021, by the Decree of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia (Kemendikbudristek RI) dated July 1, 2021. The field of tourism was recognized as an independent study in Indonesia in 2008. Currently, there are three professors in the field of tourism, and Professor Diena is the third professor of tourism in Indonesia.

During the inauguration ceremony, Prof. Diena delivered a scientific oration titled “Acceleration of Environmental Sustainability in Tourism Villages Through Local Wisdom and Digital Transformation.” She encourages tour operators to use local wisdom and the power of digital transformation to maintain a prosperous culture and environment under the guidance of environmental sustainability standards.

“Today, the problem of pollution and environmental degradation has become extremely urgent issues. The global report on environmental damage shows the seriousness of the situation and requires immediate action. Tourism is an area that makes a significant contribution to environmental damage. Therefore, tourism must be increasingly responsible; one way is to provide low-carbon tourism,” emphasized Prof. Diena.

In addition, Prof. Diena explained that one of the starting points in Indonesia’s pursuit of sustainable tourism is tourism villages. Tourists and local residents of the tourist villages are taught to implement environmentally friendly tourism practices. There are two things that can accelerate the implementation of the principles of sustainable development in tourism villages, that is, focusing on local wisdom and digital transformation.

“Local wisdom from the tourism village is used as the main approach, which encompasses several attributes, namely: culture, customs, beliefs, habits, morals and ethics. These different attributes can create value (value creation) for the tourist village, especially in terms of environmental sustainability. Value creation refers to the way that existing local knowledge is mapped to a wider range of universal sustainability standards so that it can be more easily understood by tourism village stakeholders. Digital transformation is a platform created to express local wisdom, which is the basis of the world of tourism villages. It enables all attributes of local knowledge to be digitally documented, so that they can be easily accessed by the public and thus garner wider interest among tourists,” explained Prof. Diena.

The main challenge in realizing the concept of sustainable development through local wisdom and digital transformation is how to implement and accelerate this concept among all stakeholders in the tourist village. The limitations of technology and people with technology skills in tourist villages are the two main factors that must be paid special attention to in order to achieve sustainable acceleration. “Think ahead and don’t quit before trying just because there are many challenges,” reminded Prof. Diena.

“I hope that the outcome of my research can be useful for the general public, government, academics, businesses, and of course, all tourism stakeholders. The sustainable development model of tourism villages proposed by me must still be tested and refined in a more specific form. The many challenges that will be faced when building a sustainable tourism village demonstrate the importance of starting immediately. Switching to a digital platform is no longer an option, but a necessity and can’t be postponed any longer. Technology will help manage tourism villages more effectively and efficiently in a shorter span of time, “said Prof. Diena.

Prof. Diena M. Lemy’s inauguration as Professor in the field of Tourism is a source of pride for UPH. In addition, the addition of tourism science professors shows the growing development of tourism education.