Indonesia is a country with geographical position is flanked by 2 continents, the Asian continent and the Australian continent, so that Indonesia has a strategic location. With this strategic location, Indonesia potentially has the opportunity to become a country that is rich of beautiful tourist areas. Therefore the tourism sector in Indonesia has the potential to be able to compete with tourism around the world. One of them is the province of the Bangka Belitung Islands which is known as a tin producing area. The Bangka Belitung Islands area has 2 large islands, Bangka Island and Belitung Island. Bangka Island has 4 regencies and 1 city, including Bangka Regency, Central Bangka Regency, South Bangka Regency, West Bangka Regency and Pangkalpinang City. Belitung Island has 2 regencies, including Belitung Regency and East Belitung Regency.

Pangkalpinang City is the capital of the Province of Bangka Belitung Islands, known as the City of Thousands Smiles. The tourism sector in Pangkalpinang includes historical tours such as tin museums, Jamik Mosques, Kwan Tie Miaw temples, Dutch cemeteries, Wangka orphanages, and Sentosa cemeteries. Cultural Tourism that can be visited are Tige Oerang Kampoeng, Tunu Malay Village, Kelekak Community. Coastal tourism includes Pasir Padi Beach, Bangka Botanical Garden, Sea Goddess Temple, Jagadnatha Surya Kencana Temple, Tanjung Bunga Beach, and Taman Kolong Wisata. Artificial tourism includes the inspirational window house, 0 kilometer monument, Pasir padi bay, Babel Bhay park. Culinary Tours such as Waroeng Tung Tau, Koba Iskandar Noodle Stalls, Pantiaw, Brains. Sports Tourism such as Girimaya golf course, Depati Amir Stadium, Gor depati Bahrein.

Figure 1 shows that the Tourism Sector is one of the sectors that contributes to state revenue. In 2019 the tourism sector contributed to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 4.7% and was the highest since 2010, so it is expected that in 2020 there will be an increase compared to 2019. However, in early 2020 the world was shaken by the outbreak of the Covid -19 virus, and Indonesia was also affected by the covid-19 pandemic. The existence of the Covid-19 pandemic has had a downward impact on the tourism sector.

The World Health Organization (WHO) officially announced that as of March 9, 2020 the Covid-19 pandemic had spread throughout the world. In Indonesia on July 4, 2021 there were 2,284,084 cases and in the Bangka Belitung Islands as of July 2, 2021 there were 21,643 cases. In Pangkalpinang City as of July 1, 2021 there were 6372 cases. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, social interaction had been limited, so the Indonesian government implemented large-scale social restrictions (PSBB). With the existence of large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) the tourism sector was limited.

In Figure 2 the number of tourist visits in 2019 in Bangka Belitung Province from January to April had increased and in May it had decreased  but  the   following month it continued to increase again. At the beginning of 2020 January to February there was an increase compared to the previous year. In 2019 the number of tourists in January was 26,446 and in February it was 27,474.

Figure 1: Tourism Contribution to GDP (%)

Source: Lokadata [1]

Figure 2: Number of Tourists at the Province of Bangka Belitung Islands from 2019-2020

Source: Central Bureau of Statistics 2021

During 2020 there was an increase in the number of tourist visits in January by 30,712 and February by 33,638 but from March to December it continued to decrease. This was due to the covid-19 pandemic. 19. The condition of the Covid-19 pandemic had an impact on the tourism sector in the province of Bangka Belitung Islands even throughout Indonesia. Governor of Bangka Belitung Islands Dr. H. Erzaldi Rosman said that the tourism sector in Bangka Belitung during the Covid-19 pandemic era decreased by around 40 to 45 percent [2].

Figure 3 shows the number of tourists in Pangkalpinang city. In 2019 the number of tourists in January was 10,085 and in February it was 9,462 and increased in April and May by 11,468 and 14,993. Compared to 2019, in 2020 the number of tourists increased in January by 10,560 and in February by 12,332. Beginning in March 2020 to December the number of tourists in Pangkalpinang city continued to decline due to the covid-19 pandemic.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a strategy was needed to improve the tourism sector in order to recover its condition. The tourism marketing strategy is a strategy used to increase the number of visits to a tourist destination area. In carrying out the tourism marketing strategy there is a marketing mix. According to Morrison the marketing mix includes 8P namely Product, Price, Place, Promotion, People, Partnership, Packaging, and Programming [3].

The previous research in the area of study includes Nova Indah Sari Pasaribu, James D.D Massie, Jane G. Poluan [3], the  Effect   of  Tourism Marketing Strategy on the Decision to Visit the Mahawu Tomohon Prayer Hill. 

Figure 3: Number of Tourists in Pangkalpinang City 2019-2020

Source: Central Bureau of Statistics 2021

The results showed that simultaneously the tourism marketing strategy, involving product, price, promotion, place, packaging, programs, human resources, and partnerships had a significant effect on the decision to visit tourists at Bukit Doa Mahawi Tomohon. The results showed that partially products with a t-count (1.617), prices with a t-count (-0.918), promotions with a t-count (1.737), HR with a probability value greater than 0.05 and t-count (1.109) , and partnerships with a probability value greater than 0.05 and t-count (-0.387) had no significant effect on the decision to visit the Mahawi Prayer Hill Tomohon. The results of the study showed that partially the place, packaging, and program had a positive and significant effect on the decision to visit Mahawu Tomohon Prayer Hill.

Rudi Santoso, Rahayu Shinta, Achmad Yanu Alif Fianto [4], the Effect of Service Marketing Mix on Decisions to Visit Marine Tourism in East Java. The results of the study showed that the variables of product, price, promotion, location, people, process, and physical evidence had a partial effect on the decision to visit. The results also revealed the four variables, including product, place, promotion, and physical evidence had a large impact on the decision to visit. The promotion variable based on the t-test results has the t-value and the largest beta coefficient had a strong influence in relation to other variables.

Olivia Christy Paramulia et al. [5], entitled ‘The Influence of the Marketing Mix on the Decision to Visit the Manado Nature House Tourism Object.’ The results of the study showed that simultaneously the marketing mix influences the decision to visit. The results also showed that product, place, and promotion had a significant positive effect on visiting decisions, while price and people had no significant effect on visiting decisions. The results of the study also showed that the process has a negative effect on the decision to visit.

Based on this description, the researcher intends to see and research "The Influence of Tourism Marketing Strategy on Decisions to Visit the Tourist Areas in Pangkalpinang during the Covid-19 Pandemic Era". The purpose of this study is to find out whether Product, Price, Place, Promotion, People, Partnership partially and simultaneously influence the decision to visit tourist destination areas in Pangkalpinang City during the Covid-19 pandemic era.

This study uses quantitative research using primary data in the form of questionnaires and secondary data in the form of data from BPS log books, websites, or data from related agencies to strengthen and support this research data. The independent variables in this study are Product (X1), Price (X2), Place (X3), Promotion (X4), People (X5) and Partnership (X6), while the dependent variable in this study is the decision to visit (Y).

The population in this study is tourists, who visit tourist destination areas in Pangkalpinang, because the population size is unknown, the technique used is non-probability sampling technique. The sample used in this study was accidental sampling, which of sampling by chance used 100 samples.

The data analysis technique used in this study applies multiple linear regression methods. Data analysis techniques used in this study include descriptive analysis, validity test, reliability test, classical assumption test, and hypothesis test. In this study, data were processed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS).

Findings and Discussions

Based on the results of the T test, it can be seen that the significance value (sig) of the product variable (X1) is 0.042 <0.05, so it can be concluded that there is an influence between the product variable (X1) on the decision to visit partially. The significance value of the price variable (X2) is 0.044 <0.05, so it can be concluded that there is an influence between the price variable (X2) on the decision to visit partially The significance value of the price variable (X2) is 0.044 <0.05, so it can be concluded that there is an influence between the place variable (X3) on the decision to visit partially. 

Table 1: Partial Test Results (T Test) 

Source: Data processed by researchers, 2022

Table 2: Simultaneous Test (Test F)

Source: Data processed by researchers, 2022

The significance value of the promotion variable (X4) is 0.026 <0.05, so it can be inferred that there is an influence between the promotion variable (X4) on the decision to visit partially. The significance value of the person variable (X5) is 0.045 <0.05, so we come to conclusion that there is an influence between the person variable (X5) on the decision to visit partially. The significance value of the partnership variable (X6) is 0.016 <0.05, hence this concluded that there is an influence between the partnership variable (X6) on the decision to visit partially.

Based on the F-test results table above, the significance value obtained is 0.000 <0.05, it can be concluded that there is a simultaneous effect between product (X1), price (X2), place (X3), promotion (X4), people (X5) , and partnerships (X6) on visiting decisions (Y).

From the results of this study conclusion could be described as follows:

• Product (Product) has a significant effect on the decision to visit. This is based on the results of the product T-test whose significance value is below 5%, which is 0.042

• Price has a significant effect on visiting decisions. This is based on the results of the T-test of price whose significance value is below 5%, which is equal to 0.044

• Place has a significant effect on visiting decisions. This is based on the results of the T-test where the significance value is below 5%, which is 0.004

• Promotion has a significant effect on visiting decisions. This is based on the results of the promotional T-test where the significance value is below 5%, which is 0.026

• People (visitors) have a significant effect on the decision to visit. This is based on the results of the T-test for visitors whose significance value is below 5%, which is 0.045

• Partnership has a significant effect on visiting decisions. This is based on the results of the partnership T-test where the significance value is below 5%, which is 0.016

• Simultaneously the marketing strategy consisting of product, price, place, promotion, people, and partnerships on the decision to visit has a significant effect on the decision to visit the Pangkalpinang tourist area. This is based on the results of the F-test above where the significance value is less than 5%, which is equal to 0.000

Acknowledgment

We thank the research institutions and community service of University of Bangka Belitung for providing a platform for researchers to carry out the research as part of academic activities in our institution.

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