TOURISM PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY AT THE MUSEUM PERJUANGAN

TNI, MEDAN CITY

Christina Indriani Sianipar1, Jul Indah Sulistriani Laia2, Ananda Pratiwi 3, Wella Bella May
Sheila V4, Jerian Rio Jimmy Purba5
Tourism Destinations, Politeknik Pariwisata Medan1-5
chris.indriani@gmail.com1 , julindahlaia@gmail.com2,  anandapratw2002@gmail.com3, 
msv12340@gmail.com4, jerianpurba53@gmail.com5

ABSTRACT
The Museum Perjuangan TNI is one of the historical museums located in the city of Medan. This
museum contains a lot of historical stories from the fighters to defend the country, especially the
history of the Battle of Medan Area. This study focuses on the factors that are the strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the Museum Perjuangan TNI. This study aims to find out
how the strategy for developing tourism products at The Museum Perjuangan TNI is. Data collection
techniques used in this study were interviews, field surveys, documentation studies, and literature
studies. Sources of data are taken from respondents, managers of tourist objects, and tourists. Data
collection techniques using SWOT analysis, the results of the study show. 1) The Museum Perjuangan
TNI has a variety of products from the history of the Medan Area battle and their authenticity is still
maintained. 2) there is still a lack of variety and tourist attractions and the absence of tourism
activities/activities. The limitations experienced in this study were the lack of information and
resource persons at the time of conducting interviews. The development strategy in a tourist attraction
has an important role in developing a business, to find out how big the targets, goals, and expectations
of future businesses are. This study reveals that it is necessary to increase the use of media digital as a
platform to promote and introduce business products where the role of the use of digital marketing is
very important in developing a tourism product in today's era
Keywords: Strategy, Development, SWOT, Historical Tourism, Museums

1. INTRODUCTION
The tourism sector has an important influence on the development and development of a country,
Indonesia is no exception. Indonesia has a variety of tourism potential in the form of natural,
artificial, and cultural resources. We can also see this from the many developments and
developments of the tourism sector in Indonesia from year to year. According to Law Number 10
of 2009 concerning Tourism, it is stated that "Tourism is a variety of tourism activities and is
supported by various facilities and services provided by the community, businessmen, government
and local governments". To develop tourism, the existence of tourism products plays an important
role in being able to provide quality services to tourists. 
Medan city is the third-largest city in Indonesia. Apart from being the capital of the province of
North Sumatra, Medan City has a variety of resources that have the potential to be developed as a
tourist destination. The city of Medan has great potential in terms of natural, cultural, and
artificial resources, this is because the city of Medan has historical heritage, beautiful city views, a
strategic location and has a variety of customs and cultures. The city of Medan has many tourist
objects that have the potential to be visited so that they have the opportunity to be redeveloped.

3Rd International Conference on Tourism and Entrepreunership (ICTE) 2021

 The museum is one of the cultural heritage. In the Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 11
of 2010 concerning cultural heritage in paragraph 1, it is explained that "cultural heritage is a
cultural heritage that is material in the form of cultural heritage objects, cultural heritage
buildings, cultural heritage structures, cultural heritage sites, and cultural heritage areas on land
and in water that needs to be preserved because it has an important value for history, namely,
Educational Science, Science, and Religious Science”. Museums as tourist destinations must be
able to strive not to be left behind and be able to compete with other tourist objects.
One of the tourist destinations in Medan City is the Museum Perjuangan TNI which is located on
Zainul Arifin Street. This museum is the only museum of the TNI's struggle in the city of Medan
which contains many collections of historical relics from the struggle of the TNI and the people of
North Sumatra during the Battle of Medan Area. Various collectibles can be found in the
Museum, such as various weapons, uniforms used in the war of independence in 1945, then the
first red and white flag in the city of Medan, as well as several collections of currency in
Indonesia at that time. The Museum Perjuangan TNI plays an important role for the world of
education as well as all visitors who have the desire and curiosity about the history of the struggle
of the TNI during the Medan Area battle and can also teach the values ​of Patriotism and
Nationalism. However, as a tourist attraction that stores a collection of historical heritage objects,
there are still many people who have limited understanding and lack interest in museums. 
The tourism sector can develop if there is a contribution from the government, managers, and the
local community which is also supported by the existence of adequate facilities and infrastructure.
If you look at the TNI Struggle Museum, the tourism products offered are still inadequate, so a
development strategy is needed so that The Museum Perjuangan TNI can attract the interest of the
wider community
.

2. LITERATURE 

1) Definition of museum
According to the International Council of Museums (ICOM) in the Guidelines for Museum
Indonesia (2008: 10) museum is an institution of permanent, non-profit, serving the society
and its development, open to the public, acquiring, maintaining, connect and showcasing
artifacts -artifacts concerning human identity and the environment for study, education and
recreation. 

2) SWOT
Analysis SWOT analysis is a strategic planning analysis method used to monitor and evaluate
the company's external and internal environment for a particular business goal. SWOT is an
acronym for the words: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in a project or
business speculation. SWOT involves determining specific business or project speculative
objectives and identifying the supporting and non-supporting internal and external factors in
achieving these goals. SWOT analysis can be applied by analyzing and sorting out various
things that affect the four factors, which are then mapped in a SWOT matrix image:
a) strengths that can take advantage of existing opportunities,
b) weaknesses that prevent taking advantage of opportunities. ) that exist,
c) strengths that can deal with existing threats, and
d) weaknesses that can make threats real or create a new threat.
The SWOT Matrix is ​an important matching tool that helps managers develop four types of
strategies: SO Strategy (strengths-opportunities), WO Strategies (weakness-opportunities), ST
Strategies (strengths of threats), and WT Strategies (weaknesses-threats) (David, 2009)

3) Strategy Development

3Rd International Conference on Tourism and Entrepreunership (ICTE) 2021

 Strategy is a tool to achieve company goals about long-term goals, follow-up programs, as
well as resource allocation priorities (Rangkuti, 2002).
Development is learning activities that are held within a certain period to increase the
possibility to improve performance (Hardjana, 2011).

3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The research method that will be used in this study is a qualitative approach. This research is
located at the Museum Perjuangan TNI, Medan City. Sources of data were taken from
managers and tourists through field surveys, interviews, documentation, and literature studies.
The data analysis technique uses analysis SWOT by identifying Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, Threats and determining strategies using matrix SWOT.

Table 1. Matrix SWOT

Strengths Weaknesses
Opportunities SO strategies WO strategies

Threats ST Strategies WT Strategies

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 

1. Overview of Museum Perjuangan TNI

The museum is open to the public and to visit is free of charge. The Museum Perjuangan TNI
consists of 2 floors. Generally, tourists who visit are students, starting from elementary, junior high,
high school/vocational school up to college students. 

1st Floor
Floor On the 1st floor of the TNI struggle museum, we can find many photos that tell how events and
events occurred during the army's struggle against the allies, as well as how the life of the Medan city
community at that time. There are photos of heroes and regional commanders in ACEH, SUMUT, W
Sumatra, and RIAU from 1945 to the present. There is also the first red and white flag used in the city
of Medan. Then there was the Presidential Praise Letter on January 1, 1948, which was signed by
Moh. Hatta and the presence of a typewriter (Daito, Royal), film projector, full uniform. Then there
are various medicines and medical equipment used during the Battle of Medan area, as well as
weapons made by Britain, America, Czechoslovakia, and also Indonesia itself. 

2nd Floor
For the 2nd floor, there are more historical relics than on the first floor. On the 2nd floor, we can see
more kinds of weapons, British-made ejection tubes, KAKA CL SMR Weapons, Karon /Tank Cannon
Barrels, Heavy Cannons, and several photos of independence heroes such as Colonel AE Kawilarang,
Colonel A. Simbolon, Colonel Djamin Ginting, Colonel A. Manaf Lubis. In addition, on the 2nd floor,
there is a room that stores various flags, various kinds of munitions of various sizes, various kinds of
Harian Harvest insignia, and there are various collections of currencies that existed in Indonesia in
1931-1968. 

When viewed from the number of tourist visits at the Museum Perjuangan TNI, there has been a
drastic decrease in visits in the last 2 years. From the sources of information we obtained, tourist visits

3Rd International Conference on Tourism and Entrepreunership (ICTE) 2021

at The Museum Perjuangan TNI in 2020-2021 only have 2 to 3 visits every day or even no visits at
all. This happened because of the pandemic in the last 2 years, causing restrictions on activities
including travel activities and also the lower interest of tourists to visit. 

2. SWOT Analisys
Based on the observation of the interview with the tour guide (Guide) Mr. J.Sinaga at the Museum
Perjuangan TNI, information was obtained regarding Strength (strength), Weakness (weakness),
Opportunity (opportunity), and Threat (threat). The strength of this museum arises from within
this object itself such as It is the only Museum Perjuangan TNI in Medan City because there is
only one existence in Medan City, so it can be classified as Strength analysis, this object has a
special appeal and has no rivals of similar objects.

In addition to power, the military struggle museum also has a weakness (weakness) that must be
considered, such as the lack of variety and attractions in tourist activity. This museum contains the
history of the TNI's struggle for the Bukit Barisan in the Battle of Medan Area, it also contains
many relics of historical items belonging to the TNI who fought to defend the country. So the
attractions given can be in the form of stories about events from the history of the TNI who
fought, shed blood to defend the region as well as the Indonesian state. other than that, other
activities that can be done are such as seeing original historical relics used by the TNI when
fighting, such as army clothes complete with rank, firearms, cannons, and even paper money at

3Rd International Conference on Tourism and Entrepreunership (ICTE) 2021

that time. The limitations of such attractions may make tourists bored to visit, and lack of interest
so that this tourist attraction has not been able to retain visitors so that they can stay longer in this
museum.

The absence of the use of digital marketing has also become a weakness for the TNI struggle
museum, today is a digital era where technology is increasingly developing and sophisticated
from year to year, resulting in any business that is engaged in if it cannot adapt to the current
situation and conditions it will be less attractive then will abandon. And this is the biggest
weakness for any business.

Based on the weakness in the use of digital marketing, this could also be an opportunity for TNI's
struggle museum, it is hoped that in the future the use of digital marketing (such as official
accounts on Youtube, Instagram, Facebook, and other media.) If managed properly and seriously,
it could be a great opportunity for this museum to market tourism products more widely.

From the opportunities, there will be threats, based on information from The Museum Perjuangan
TNI tour guide. The threat they have is when they face visits or crowds that exceed capacity,
while the number of workers is also limited. The excess number of visits makes the service less
than optimal, also making things worse. This situation is a tough situation for tour guides.
Therefore, it is necessary to have adequate manpower who are reliable in their work.

The strategy for developing The Museum Perjuangan TNI tourism product from
analysis SWOT can be seen in the following table.

Table 1. Strenghts
Strenghts

● has a diverse collection of historical relics (arms, bags, flags, badges, clothing,
typewriters, and other historical relics) which still maintained their authenticity 
● is an educational tour 
● is the only museum Museum Perjuangan TNI in the city of Medan 
● the strategic location is in the heart of Medan city 
● entrance fee is free of charge 

Table 2. Weakness
Weaknesses

● lack of variety and attractions 

● yet their use of digital marketing 
● their organizational structure yet 
● labor shortages resulting in sub-optimal services 
● and amenities yet neat information and still limited 
● Lack of government intervention, especially the Office of Tourism of Medan in
introducing this museum as one of the attractions 
● No future program policies

Table 3. Opportunities

3Rd International Conference on Tourism and Entrepreunership (ICTE) 2021

 Opportunities

● the existence of a cooperative relationship with the private investor 

● working closely with schools to become a tremendous opportunity for museum 
● There is tourism tendency towards alternative tourism, which is like a museum with an
educational-based 
● digital marketing Utilization(Instagram, youtube, website)to be able to market and
introduce tourism products

Table 4. Threats
Threaths

● visits dropped dramatically due to the pandemic

● Tourist visits that exceed capacity so that the services provided are not optimal 
● Low public interest in visiting The Museum Perjuangan TNI
● number of similar tourist objects that will lead to competitiveness 
● Utilization of some of the museum land as parking lots for restaurants, and bank
employees

Based on a SWOT analysis (Strength, Weaknesses), Opportunity, Threat) who can know SWOT
matrix analysis in the Tourism Product Development Strategy in Museum Perjuangan TNI is as
follows:

1) SO Strategies (Strength, Opportunity) 

The analysis conducted has found that SO Strategies Improving and developing the potential
visit of students. Because it stores historical relics of the TNI's struggle, this museum has the
power as an educational tour. This can be used as an opportunity to increase awareness of
historical heritage as a means of education. 

2) WO Strategy (Weakness, Opportunity)

From the analysis carried out, the WO Strategy is obtained, namely Utilizing digital
marketing as a tourism promotion platform media. The use of digital media today plays an
important role in doing business where the use of digital media can introduce products with a
wider range. The weakness of this museum is that there is no use of digital marketing. This
can be used as an opportunity for the future by utilizing digital platforms such as YouTube,
Instagram, Facebook, websites, and others.

3) ST Strategy (Strength, Threat)

The ST strategy obtained is to improve the quality and image (brand) of the Museum.
Wherefrom the observations that have been made there are threats such as the use of part of
the Museum's land as a parking lot by restaurants and bank employees around which resulted
in the decline of the image (brand) of the Museum of Struggle itself. So it is necessary to
improve the quality.

4) WT Strategy (Weakness, Threat)

The WT strategy obtained is to increase cooperation with domestic and foreign investors.
Where there is a threat from this Museum is the lack of cooperation with investors. So with
this, the Museum management establishes a cooperative relationship so that it is not only
known domestically but also abroad. 

3Rd International Conference on Tourism and Entrepreunership (ICTE) 2021

Analysis of the SWOT Matrix in the Tourism Product Development strategy at the Bukit Barisan
Museum Perjuangan TNI can be seen in the table below:

Table 5. SWOT Matrix Analysis of the matrix

SWOT Matrix Strengths – S Weaknesses – W

IFAS 1. Clothes, typewriters, 1. Lack of variety and

and other historical tourist attractions 
relics) whose 2. Not yet the use of
authenticity still digital marketing 
preserved  3. There is no
2. Is It educational tour  organizational
3. is an Is the only structure, 
Museum Perjuangan 4.  lack of manpower,
EFAS TNI in Medan City  resulting in less than
4. Strategically located in optimal services. 
the middle of Medan 5. Facilities and
City  information are not
5. The entrance fee is free  well organized and still
limited. 
6. Lack of government
intervention, especially
the Medan City
Tourism Office, in
introducing this
museum as a tourist
attraction. 
7. There is no future
program policy for

3Rd International Conference on Tourism and Entrepreunership (ICTE) 2021

 Opportunities – O Strategi SO Strategi WO

1. There is a cooperative 1. (S2, O2) Promote and 1. (S2, O2) Promote and
relationship with private develop awareness develop awareness
investors  traveled to the students. traveled to the students.
2. Collaborating with 2. (S1, O4) Improving 2. (S1, O4) Improving
schools can be a great product quality and product quality and
opportunity for the maintaining product maintaining product
Museum  authenticity  authenticity 
3. There is a tourism trend
towards alternative
tourism, such as
educational-based
museum tours 
4. Utilizing digital
marketing (Instagram,
youtube, website) to get
market and introduce
tourism products 

Threats – T Strategi ST Strategi WT

1. Visits decreased 1. (S2, T3) Increase 1. (W1, T3) Increase

drastically due to tourism activities and variety and attractions
pandemic activities that can foster as well as tourism
2. Tourist visits that exceed awareness of traveling potential to attract
capacity so that the 2. (S4, T5) Improve the tourists to visit the
services provided are not quality and image museum
optimal  (good name) of 2. ( W6, T1) Have a
3. Low public interest in theMuseum future work program to
visiting The Museum deal with unexpected
Perjuangan TNI The  events
4. number of similar tourist 3. (W3, T2) Improving
objects that will lead to the quality of service to
competitiveness  tourists
5. Utilization of part of the 4. (W4, T2) Improving
Museum land as a human resources
parking lot for
restaurants, and bank
employees 

5. CONCLUSION 
From the discussion that the author has described previously, it can be concluded that the
SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat) on the product development strategy of the
Museum Perjuangan TNI Bukit Barisan is as follows: it is the only museum owned by
national army in Medan City is the main strength of the study location. There is no use of
digital marketing as the main weakness. The use of digital marketing (Instagram, YouTube,
website) will be able to market and introduce tourism products is an opportunity for this

3Rd International Conference on Tourism and Entrepreunership (ICTE) 2021

 museum so that it can attract more tourist visits from the wider community. Then tourist visits
that exceed capacity so that the services provided are not optimal will be a threat. To increase
the strengths and opportunities as well as minimize and avoid threats, it is necessary to have
the right strategy to be able to develop a product to the target to be achieved beforehand.
From the results of the SWOT carried out, it can be seen that the right strategy for developing
TNI Bukit Barisan Museum tourism products is to use the WO matrix where the strategy is to
increase the use of digital as a platform to promote and introduce business products where the
role of the use of digital marketing is very important in developing a product in today's era. 

RECOMMENDATIONS
Government support and intervention are very much needed to be able to develop a tourist
destination, especially for The Museum Perjuangan TNI which contains the history of the
fighters in the Medan Area battle. Then it is also necessary to establish cooperative
relationships and provide adequate facilities and infrastructure so that they can provide
optimal service to all visitors. 

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3Rd International Conference on Tourism and Entrepreunership (ICTE) 2021