Abstract:
In 2016 President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo established Lake Toba Tourism Authority or
BODT (Badan Otoritas Danau Toba) in order to encourage the existence of ecotourism in
Lake Toba. In this context, ecotourism is about conservation and utilization of natural
resources, cultural wealth, community, and tradition values so that need to glorify by
Indonesian in order to create nation branding of Indonesia in eyes of the world. In this research,
will explore about the strategy of Indonesia’s government along with related parties to
encourage ecotourism in Lake Toba to create nation branding of Indonesia through qualitative
method. Drawing on Jan Malissen’s 2006s theory of public diplomacy as an attempt to
influence other people or organizations outside the country in a positive way so as to change
the way that person views a country or on the other side, to achieve foreign policy objectives,
this study will examine the promotion of ecotourism in Lake Toba to attract tourists from inside
and outside the countries through the existing diplomacy. It is expected will be beneficial to
Indonesia’s nation branding to other countries in order to develop tourism promotion of
Indonesia as source of income and sustainable community development.
