KAMPANYE WONDERFUL INDONESIA SEBAGAI STRATEGI DIPLOMASI PUBLIK DIGITAL INDONESIA DI AUSTRALIA PASCA PANDEMI COVID-19
Keywords:
citra destinasi, diplomasi publik digital, nation branding, wonderful Indonesia, soft powerAbstract
This study examines the role of the Wonderful Indonesia campaign as a digital public diplomacy strategy for building Indonesia's positive image in Australia during the 2022-2024 post-COVID-19 recovery. It combines constructivism, soft power, nation branding, and destination-image perspectives to explain how digital representations produce meaning. Using a descriptive qualitative approach, the study conducts content analysis of selected Instagram and YouTube posts and the official Wonderful Indonesia website, triangulated with government documents, tourism statistics, and academic literature. The findings show that open-nature imagery and narratives of relaxation, safety, and destination readiness consistently frame Indonesia as a calm, welcoming, and relevant destination for Australian travellers. Nevertheless, communication remains predominantly one-way, insufficiently localized, and unsupported by direct measurement of audience attitude change. Therefore, the campaign operates more convincingly as an instrument of image projection than as a mechanism for sustained dialogic relationship-building.
References
Anholt, S. (2007). Competitive identity: The new brand management for nations, cities and regions. London, England: Palgrave Macmillan.
Badan Pusat Statistik. (2021). Statistik kunjungan wisatawan mancanegara 2015-2020. Jakarta, Indonesia: BPS RI.
Bjola, C., Cassidy, J., & Manor, I. (2019). Public diplomacy in the digital age. The Hague Journal of Diplomacy, 14(1-2), 83-101.
Cheung, M. L., Ting, H., Cheah, J.-H., & Sharipudin, M.-N. S. (2021). Examining the role of social media-based destination brand community in evoking tourists' emotions and intention to co-create and visit. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 30(1), 28-43.
Cull, N. J. (2008). Public diplomacy: Taxonomies and histories. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 616(1), 31-54.
Dinnie, K. (2016). Nation branding: Concepts, issues, practice (2nd ed.). London, England: Routledge.
Duncombe, C. (2019). Digital diplomacy: Emotion and identity in the public realm. The Hague Journal of Diplomacy, 14(1-2), 102-116.
Echtner, C. M., & Ritchie, J. R. B. (2003). The meaning and measurement of destination image. The Journal of Tourism Studies, 14(1), 37-48.
Fahrizal, M., Sundari, R., Ash Shiddiqi, M. A., & Rani, F. (2022). The strategy of the Indonesian government in implementing the Wonderful Indonesia digital diplomacy program. KEMUDI: Jurnal Ilmu Pemerintahan, 7(1), 47-65. https://doi.org/10.31629/kemudi.v7i1.4814
Gilboa, E. (2008). Searching for a theory of public diplomacy. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 616(1), 55-77.
Instagram @wonderfulindonesia. (2022-2024). Selected posts dated July 15, 2022; March 3, 2023; and May 12, 2024. Retrieved January 12, 2026, from https://www.instagram.com/wonderfulindonesia/
Kementerian Pariwisata dan Ekonomi Kreatif Republik Indonesia. (2019). Tourism market profile: Australia. Jakarta, Indonesia: Kemenparekraf.
Nye, J. S., Jr. (2004). Soft power: The means to success in world politics. New York, NY: PublicAffairs.
Pachucki, C., Grohs, R., & Scholl-Grissemann, U. (2022). Is nothing like before? COVID-19-evoked changes to tourism destination social media communication. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 23, 100692. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2022.100692
Pamment, J. (2014). Articulating influence: Toward a research agenda for interpreting the evaluation of soft power, public diplomacy and nation brands. Public Relations Review, 40(1), 50-59.
Rasoolimanesh, S. M., Seyfi, S., Rastegar, R., & Hall, C. M. (2021). Destination image during the COVID-19 pandemic and future travel behavior: The moderating role of past experience. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 21, 100620.
Sevin, E., Metzgar, E. T., & Hayden, C. (2018). The scholarship of public diplomacy: Analysis of a growing field. International Journal of Communication, 12, 3695-3715.
Simanjuntak, T. R., Sudarmawan, B. N., & Susila, I. (2019). Efektivitas nation branding Wonderful Indonesia sebagai sebuah strategi dalam hubungan diplomasi pemerintah Indonesia tahun 2011-2018. Cakrawala Jurnal Penelitian Sosial, 8(1), 29-59.
Wendt, A. (1999). Social theory of international politics. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Wonderful Indonesia. (2022-2024). Official tourism website. Retrieved January 12, 2026, from https://www.indonesia.travel/
YouTube Wonderful Indonesia. (2023, August 20). Selected tourism storytelling video. Retrieved January 12, 2026, from https://www.youtube.com/@wonderfulindonesia
Yulliana, E. A., Pitoyo, & Priyanto, A. (2021). Diplomasi budaya melalui nation branding Wonderful Indonesia dalam meningkatkan pariwisata Indonesia di masa pandemi COVID-19. Global & Policy, 9(2), 30-40.
Zenker, S., & Kock, F. (2020). The coronavirus pandemic: A critical discussion of a tourism research agenda. Tourism Management, 81, 104164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2020.104164.
.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Rafi Althaf Naufal, Elistania Elistania
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
In submitting the manuscript to the Balcony (Budi Luhur Journal of Contemporary Diplomacy) , the authors certify that:
- They are authorized by their co-authors to enter into these arrangements.
- The work described has not been formally published before, except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, thesis, or overlay journal.
- That it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere,
- The publication has been approved by the author(s) and by responsible authorities – tacitly or explicitly – of the institutes where the work has been carried out.
- They secure the right to reproduce any material that has already been published or copyrighted elsewhere.
- They agree to the following license and copyright agreement.
License and Copyright Agreement
Authors who publish with Balcony (Budi Luhur Journal of Contemporary Diplomacy) agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the Balcony (Budi Luhur Journal of Contemporary Diplomacy) right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors can enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the Balcony (Budi Luhur Journal of Contemporary Diplomacy) published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or edit it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) before and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
