CHAPTER III EXPERIENCE AND OBSTACLES. A. Association of the Indonesian Tour and Travel Agencies (ASITA)

Transcription

1 CHAPTER III EXPERIENCE AND OBSTACLES A. Association of the Indonesian Tour and Travel Agencies (ASITA) 1. Profile Launched in Jakarta on January 7 th 1971, ASITA (Association of the Indonesian Tour and Travel Agencies) is the only legally acknowledge nonprofit alliance of Indonesian travel entrepreneurship. ASITA launched in Operating under the RI Law number 9/1990 regarding tourism, ASITA provides a headship to the communal efforts of Indonesian travel agencies. ASITA is an association for the tourism entrepreneurs, especially tours and

2 travel agencies in Indonesia that have some the categories of its membership. 2. Visions and Missions The visions of ASITA as follows: a. To serve and protect the interest of its members and external parties. b. To preserve the harmonic relationship between its member and external parties; both tourism and non tourism related parties. c. To improves the images of Indonesian tourism industry by ensuring customer satisfaction and security while also protecting and guaranteeing the needs of the customers and other parties involved within the Association, without sacrificing the needs of its members The mission of ASITA as follows: a. To set up structures and to boost the development, value, and quality of Indonesian travel and tourism for the benefit of its member. b. To provide a cohesive structure in order to accommodate the aspirations and raise efforts of its members to achieve collective goals. c. To encourage culture and environment aspects in tourism industry by optimally adopting the local genius concepts, and developing the friendly environment based on cultural tourism industry

3 3. Membership Anything to do with membership such as application, acceptance, appointment, and dismissal are regulated in the Rules of The Association (ART). There are five types of ASITA membership: (1) Full members which consist of Indonesian travel companies (including their branches) that have been legalized by the government and issued with ASITA s registered membership number; (2) Associate members which consist of tourism related companies, tourism educational institutions, and government tourism institutions; (3) Allied Associate Members (Non Residential Members) which comprise of hotel tour operators and other tourism companies overseas; (4) Honorary Members which consist of individuals or institutions that are meritorious for ASITA; (5) Life Members which consist of persons who have shown great dedication to ASITA. 4. ASITA Board Management ASITA has a different board management according to its level: (1) in national level called Dewan Pengurus Pusat (DPP); (2) in region level called Dewan Pengurus Daerah (DPD) which can be formed in province region if the member candidates already reach 20 which consist of travel agencies; (3) and for branches office of ASITA called Dewan Pengurus Cabang (DPC) which can w be formed in city from DPD recommendation and approved by DPP if the candidate members reach 10. Below is the board management of ASITA according to its level:

4 a. Dewan Pengurus Pusat (DPP) ASITA ADVISORY GENERAL CHIEF GENERAL CHIEF DEPUTY General Secretary Treasurer Vice Chief Head of Sectors General Secretary Deputy Treasurer Deputy Institution and organization division Marketing and Tours Research and Development Law and Advocate Commerce Committees for some country

5 b. Dewan Pengurus Daerah (DPD): DEPETA ADVISORY CHAIRMAN Vice Chairman I Vice Chairman II Vice Chairman III Secretary Treasurer Commerce Ticketing Organization and Human Resources Organization Law and Institutional Funds and Efforts Regional Coordinators Domestic and Inbound Human Resources Development Public Relation Outbound

6 c. Dewan Pengurus Cabang (DPC): ADVISORY Oversight Committee Manners Chief Daily Management Board Chief Secretary Chief Deputy Member Secretary Treasurer Ticketing and Commerce Domestic Inbound Education and Human Resources Fund and Trade Haji and Umrah Outbound Organization Promotion and Public Relation

7 B. Description of Bengawan Solo Travel Mart as Tourism Events Bengawan Solo Travel Mart is a non-profit event that was previously named Borobudur Travel Mart. Borobudur Travel Mart was held once a year as a province tourism event and it was held simultaneously with Borobudur festival in Solo, then this tourism event was taken over by tourism stakeholder in Solo. Bengawan Solo Travel Mart is held under ASITA (Association of the Indonesian Tour and Travel Agencies) Surakarta. I did job training at ASITA as volunteer in Bengawan Solo Travel Mart, from 26 th January until 26 th February. Bengawan Solo Travel Mart as a tourism event has purposes to: (1) Become a media presentation and promotion of a product, tour package, and tourism potencies in Surakarta and from other regions; (2) Improve the

8 cooperation between the Government and tourism stakeholder; (3) Increase people appreciation of the importance of tourism industry role in moving the regional and national economy; (4) Explore, develop, and preserve the cultural values. The target of Bengawan Solo Travel Mart 2015 is to make Surakarta become Top of the Mind especially in tourism sector. This tourism event is expected to be a solution to introduce and develop the region tourism potencies especially in Surakarta. Bengawan Solo Travel Mart 2015 has a different concept from last year; the committees arrange a camping for the participants. Having a theme Back to, Nature Respect the Culture, this tourism event also can be used by Solo citizens as an education media in order to make the citizens pay attention with nature and culture. 1. The preparation of Bengawan Solo Travel Mart a. Preparation The preparation of Bengawan Solo Travel Mart is started five months in advance. The preparation consists of Promotion and proposal submission which were arranged by Surakarta Culture and Tourism Department and ASITA. Surakarta Culture and Tourism Department and ASITA held road show in several cities and also through electronic media to promote this tourism event. b. The preparation of infrastructure in Bengawan Solo Travel Mart 1. Committee arrangement

9 The committees in Bengawan Solo Travel Mart 2015 was created from the merger between Surakarta s Culture and Tourism Department, ASITA members, PHRI (Persatuan Hotel dan Restaurant Indonesia) members and several tourism agencies in Surakarta. There are several divisions in the committee and each person works according to their skill. Below is the data of Bengawan Solo Travel Mart s committee: Protector : 1. Surakarta s Mayor Advisory: 1. Surakarta s Culture and Tourism Department Chief 2. The chief of DPC ASITA 3. The chief of BPC PHRI Surakarta 4. The chief of BPPIS Surakarta 5. The chief of HPI Surakarta Steering Committee: 1. Wahyu Adi Wicaksono Organizing Committee: Chief Committee The Head Deputy of Secretariat and Event : Robbie Arisutantyo : Puji Astuti 1. Secretariat : M. Noeryoto : Donny Prasetyo 2. Buyer Registration : Vera Christine

10 3. Seller Registration : Intan Permata 4. Tour and Event : Sunardi 5. Website : Daniel Setiawan 6. Documentation : Tonny Daryono Facilities and Infrastructure : Pri Siswanto 1. Hotel : Vitara Aryani : MSU. Asji 2. Consumption : Emy Yuliawati : Dayang N. 3. Equipment : Daniel Setiawan Funds and Sponsorship Treasurer : Mirza Ananda : Agus Tony : Dyah Ratna H. Sponsorship : Muhamad Gunawan : Gatot Budi K : Basid Burhanudin 2. Participants enlistment There are 43 sellers and 35 buyers which participated in Bengawan Solo Travel Mart Sellers are a tourism stakeholder from Surakarta and around such as hotel, restaurants, travel agencies etc. Meanwhile, buyers come from travel agents in Indonesia or foreign countries; each travel

11 agency sends their delegate and co-delegate to do a transaction with seller. Below is the table list of sellers and buyers in Bengawan Solo Travel Mart: Table 1: Data of Bengawan Solo Travel Mart Sellers No. Institution No Institution 1. Mentari Holidays 24. Hotel D'Wangsa HAP 2. Solo Paragon Hotel and 25. Hotel Lorin Solo Residences 3. Hotel Eastparc Yogyakarta 26. Maestro Bali Indo 4. Surya Yudha Park Banjarnegara 27. Madina Prima Indonesia 5. Panca Wisata 28. Double Decker Casual Dining 6. Grand Orchid Hotel 29. Kusuma Sahid Prince Hotel 7. PT Brawijaya Lestari 30. Jambuluwuk Hotel & Resort 8. Aston Solo Hotel 31. Sinergi Event 9. Mandira Usaha Tama 32. Vienna Tour & Travel 10. The Sunan Hotel Solo 33. Dewa Arystama 11. Fave Hotel Solo 34. Citilink Airlines 12. Hotel Syariah Arini 35. Megaland Hotel Solo 13. Hotel Aziza Solo 36. The Sunan Hotel Solo 14. De Solo Boutique Hotel & Resto 37. Baluwarti Arts Village 15. Hotel Pramesthi 38. Graha Setyowati 16. Hotel Pose In Solo 39. Batik Kencana Murni 17. Rumah Batu Villa and Spa 40. Bus Yess

12 18. The Gambir Anom Hotel 41. PT Taman Wisata Candi 19. Hotel Brothers Solo Baru 42. Rosalia Indah 20. Electratour 43. D'duwa oleh-oleh 21. Cartenz Adventure Services 44. Surya Hotel Semarang 22. Gava Holiday 23. Best Western Premiere Solo Baru Table 2: Data of Bengawan Solo Travel Mart Buyer No. Institution No. Institution 1. Zata Tour 21. TX Travel 2. Travarey Holiday 22. Trans Borneo 3. Pesona Ceria Travel 23. PT Fun Days Tours and Travel 4. Kembang Wisata 24. Fun En Relax Leisure 5. KCBJ Tour Bali 25. Pajajaran Tour Travel 6. Raka Lampung 26. PT. Tripvisto Nusantara Jaya 7. Panca Wisata Tour and Travel 27. Candi Tour 8. Raafi Tours & Travel 28. Asterindo Travel 9. Zatina 29. Putra Buana TNT 10. Safa Tour and Travel 30. Nusantara Alam Sejahtera 11. PT. Surya Mufindo Mandiri 31. PT Nata Buana

13 12. Lombok Elok Wisata Tours 32. DPP ASITA &Travel 13. Vivo Tour 33. PT. Bali Lovindo Wisata 14. ENW Travel 34. Orenz Traveller 15. PT. Gema Destinasi Wisata Tour & Travel 16. Attin Tour & Travel 17. Coca Cola Ungaran 18. Mulki Tour Travel 19. Lombok Exotic Holidays 20. Q-Back Tours & Travel 3. Volunteer recruitment In Bengawan Solo Travel Mart there is volunteer team to help the committees and the participants before, during the events and after the event finished. In Bengawan Solo Travel Mart 2015 the committees recruit 10 people which consist of students from several universities. 4. The event in Bengawan Solo Travel Mart 2015 In Bengawan Solo Travel Mart 2015 there are several activities. Each activity is connected to make the event run well. For this year there are few

14 different activities than last year. Below are few main activities in Bengawan Solo Travel Mart 2015: a. Solo City Tour The purpose of Solo City Tour is to introduce the tourism attraction in Surakarta both the heritage and the modern culture of Surakarta. Bengawan Solo Travel Mart 2015 was held simultaneously with Solo Great Sale which is held by Surakarta Government at February. The committees use this opportunity to introduce the shopping destination in Surakarta. The participants were invited to go surround the city by bus and visit famous place in Surakarta such as Mangkunegaran Palace, Triwindu Market, Ngarsopuro, Klewer market, and several shopping centers in Solo. b. Camping Bengawan Solo Travel Mart 2015 has a different concept than last year; the committees arrange a camping for the participants. The camping last for 2 days 1 night and it took place in Taman Hutan Rakyat (Tahura), Ngargoyoso, Karanganyar. The beauty of nature and the fresh air surrounded by trees, Tahura is enjoyable place for camping. There are few activities done by the participants such as dinner party entitled Bonfire above the Cloud, campfire, and also the participants were invited to fly the lantern which is provided by the committees. The committees of Bengawan Solo Travel Mart wants to

15 give a different experience to the participants and hopefully all the participants happy and satisfied in this camping. c. Sukuh Temple At February 13 th 2015, the participants visit Sukuh Temple at 10 am. Sukuh temple is also one of the tourist destinations promoted in the event. Sukuh temple is one of the heritage cultures in Surakarta. It is located near Tahura so makes it easy to the participants to go there. The participants can know about the history of Sukuh Temple and also take photos around there. By visits heritage destination, ASITA hopes that it will increase the tourism attraction especially the heritage destination. d. Kemuning Tea Garden Kemuning Tea Garden is located between Sukuh temple and Cetho temple. In this tea garden the participants can enjoy the fresh air and the scenery of vast tea garden. Buyers can explore the garden tea through tea walk. Besides, they can enjoy a cup of hot tea and genuine mountainous area with a good view of green tea gardens. The participants invited in outbound activity and play some fun games. By choose Kemuning Tea Garden as one of the Bengawan Solo Travel Mart Destination, hopefully it will boost the popularity of Kemuning itself and also the nature centers destination in Surakarta. e. Sangiran Archaeological Museum

16 Sangiran Archaeological Museum is an area where the archaeological excavations of prehistoric human fossils Pithecanthropus Erectus (Java man) found. The fossil was discovered in 1936 by archaeologists from the Netherlands. This museum is the one and only archaeological museum in Java. The museum contains human skulls, bones of animal, also an overview of life in antiquity. In this museum the committees let the participants to see Javanese human fossil that only found in Surakarta. The location of Sangiran is far from the Surakarta so it makes this museum less popular than other tourist destinations. By the reason above, ASITA chooses Sangiran as one of the destinations to make Sangiran increase the popularity. f. Dinner Party Dinner Party was followed by all participants and the committees of Bengawan Solo Travel Mart Entitled Ketaman Asmoro, the dinner party was held on 14 th of February 2015 at 7 pm in Ngarsopuro. The concept itself was made to increase the love of Indonesian cultural diversity. The committee wore puppet characters dress code, and the participants wore traditional clothes from each province. g. Table Top Table Top is the main event in Bengawan Solo Travel Mart The event was held on February 15 th, 2015 at a.m. at Sido

17 Luhur Ballroom, Aston Hotel Solo. In this event the sellers sell their product to the buyers. There are few steps in the transaction; (1) first, sellers and buyer change name card then sellers give presentation about their product to the buyer; (2) after that they do the transaction. Usually the sellers give souvenirs to the buyers such as voucher or small gift and also brochure about their product. The Table Top was arranged to increase the tourism attraction in Surakarta. By selling tourism package, accommodation, or traditional culinary product of Surakarta, hopefully it can boost the number of tourist. Rundown of Bengawan Solo Travel Mart Surakarta: Friday, 13 February, Buyer registration Solo City Tour Explore Puro Mangkunegaran prepare to go to TAHURA Dinner Bonfire above the Cloud Saturday, 14 February, Breakfast Visit Sukuh Temple Outbound and lunch in Kemuning garden tea Arrive in Sangiran Check in Hotel

18 Dinner in Ngarsopuro Ketaman Asmoro Sunday, 15 February, Breakfast Sellers Registration (Table Top) Buyers Registration (Table Top) Check out C. Significance of volunteer role in Bengawan Solo Travel Mart and the problem faced by volunteers during the event A. The event of Bengawan Solo Travel Mart 2015

19 I did job training at ASITA as a volunteer (in this event called Marshall) in Bengawan Solo Travel Mart within a month and it was performed from January 26 to February 26, Volunteers in events become an essential part besides the committees itself. A tourism event needs human resources as volunteers; especially tourism events which have many preparations, participants and venues. ASITA is one of the tourism associations which has limited human resources, therefore they need assistance from outside ASITA. ASITA gives the opportunity for the college students to participate in Bengawan Solo Travel Mart 2015 as a volunteer. I did the job training as a volunteer who helped the committees before and during the event The results of my activities are: 1. Before the event starts: a. Criteria of a volunteer of Bengawan Solo Travel Mart: To become a volunteer, I must qualify the criteria: 1. Male or Female years old 3. College students 4. Understanding written and spoken English 5. Quick to understand, have a responsibility, and can work in a team.

20 Candidates of volunteer must pass an interview test. The ASITA s secretary asked some questions about culture and tourist attraction in Solo to the candidates. b. Preparation before the event starts The activities I performed before the events are: 1. Make a proposal submission, and then send it to the sponsorships. 2. Make permission proposal for using the place. 3. Do follow up; confirm and update the buyers data about the number of delegate and information about their arrival. 4. Update data sellers and approve seller s promo material such as brochure, souvenirs, and vouchers. 5. Do some preparations at Aston hotel as the hotel where the event was held. 6. Receive information about the buyers arriving (especially for volunteer in transport division) 2. During the event a. Job description There were four divisions of volunteers In Bengawan Solo Travel Mart; (1) secretariat division, which had duties to made proposal, permission letter, invitation, and responsible for documentation; (2) transport division, which had a duty to picked up the buyers and VIP guest then carried them to the hotel. There were

21 two teams in this division, Jogja team and Solo team. The Jogja team picked up the buyers and guest in Jogja; (3) buyers and sellers division, which had duties to manage the registration, accepted and arranged the promo material, and also updated the data related to buyers and sellers; (4) table top division which had duties to control and organized the table top. Table top division was a collaboration of volunteers that had already finished their job in each division. The roles of the volunteer are: 1. Assisting the registration of buyers at Aston Solo Hotel. 2. Assisting and manage 2 days 1 night camping for all Bengawan Solo Travel Mart participants in Tahura, Ngargoyoso, Karanganyar 3. Assisting the committee to organize activities in Tahura and also provide the participants need such as meal, snack, etc. 4. Arranging the room distribution for buyers. 5. Preparing the sellers promo material and equipment for Table Top. 6. Assisting the registration for seller at the table top session. b. Name tag of the Bengawan Solo Travel Mart 2015 Everyone who was connected in the event should have a name tag including the writer. The tag had to be worn every day of the event because it gave an access to every place related to Bengawan Solo Travel Mart 2015.

22 The name tag contains: 1. Name 2. Color code 3. Position Only people with accreditation tag were allowed in the camping venue or hotel area. c. Uniform In this event, I wore formal uniform, polo shirt given by the committee, and also batik. The formal uniforms were blazer, blouse, skirt, stoking, and heels. Every female volunteer had to wear make up and have her hair styled in a bun. All of them shall be neat and tidy. The schedule of the uniform was: 1. Registration : formal uniform 2. 2 day 1 night camping : green polo shirt 3. For dinner : batik 4. Table Top : formal uniform d. Daily activities during the event

23 Bengawan Solo Travel Mart 2015 was started on February 13 th until February 15 th, I did my job training as a volunteer in Bengawan Solo Travel 2015 and I worked in sellers division. There were two venues in Bengawan Solo Travel Mart 2015; there were outdoor and indoor venues. The event started on 13 th February but as a volunteer I should stay in the venue before the event started. I came in Aston Solo Hotel on 12 th February at eleven p.m. and I stayed in the hotel. I woke up at five a.m., then I prepared myself by wearing formal clothes and make up. At seven a.m. I went down to the fifth floor to have breakfast, but in the middle of my breakfast, I heard from the committees that there were few sellers that had already came to do the registration so I went to the ground floor immediately to assist the seller registration. I also helped in the buyer registration because it was assisted by just one volunteer. In the registration I guided the buyers filled the data, information and also gave them information about the activities in Bengawan Solo Travel Mart In the middle of the day the buyers one by one came in the hotel, then checked in for a moment before they participated in the camping. The buyers came from all around Indonesia and there were transport division which was handled the buyer arrival. There were two teams of transport division; Jogja team and Solo team. The Jogja team picked up the buyers and guest from Jogja. At approximately 3 p.m. I

24 went to Tahura, Ngargoyoso, Karanganyar to assist 2 days 1 night camping entitled Back to Nature, Respect the Culture. The committees chose the theme because they wanted to make a different atmosphere for the participants by holding camps. Besides, by choosing Tahura as one of the venues in Bengawan Solo Travel Mart 2015, ASITA also promoted Tahura as one of the tourism destinations in Surakarta. I arrived at Tahura at approximately 5 p.m. then immediately I went into committee room to put my bag and prepared myself for the next activity. After that I prepared welcome drink for the participants. While the buyers enjoyed the welcome drink, the Chief Committee of Bengawan Solo Travel Mart 2015, Robbie Arisutantyo gave an opening speech to the participants. At 6.30 p.m. I helped the committeess to prepare dinner for buyers. The dinner entitled Bonfire above the Cloud and the participants wore sarong as the dress code. After dinner, the participants enjoyed the night by dangdutan and also enjoyed barbecue. I helped the committees to prepare the barbecue by peeling the corn and then roasted it. Besides those activities, the participants were also invited to fly the lantern which was provided by the committees. This activity was really fun because we also wrote down the hopes then hung it in the lantern before we flew it together. I also joined this activity because it was such a new experience for me to fly the lantern. After that, together we formed a

25 circle and we held hands while singing Kemesraan. Singing together with all the committees and participants made me feel close with them. At approximately 12 a.m. the activity was done and all the participants, committees, and volunteers should go to sleep. All of the camping participants slept in the tent provided by committees including all of the volunteers. At the first time we arrived in Tahura, unfortunately it was raining and it caused the tents wet and became uncomfortable for sleeping. It became problematic when the sleeping time came. To anticipate this, the committees already prepared waterproof mat and mattress. I also slept in the tent with one of the girls volunteers. When I slept in the tent, the temperature was really cold that made me difficult to sleep. However, I should sleep quickly because I must wake up early. On February 14 th I woke up at 6a.m. then I took a bath and prepared myself immediately wearing a sporty clothes. Before we started the activity for that day, together we did some physical exercises and stretching including the writer. After that, I changed my clothes into a green polo shirt given by the committees. At approximately 7 a.m. I assisted the committees to prepare breakfast for all the participants. After the breakfast finished, I went to the committee s room because I should pack up my bag because we were going to visit some destinations before we went back to Solo. But before we left, we took a moment for took some pictures and took a

26 selfie with all the participants. After we were ready, we left Tahura and then went to Sukuh Temple as our first destination. In the Sukuh Temple the buyers, which mostly came from outside Surakarta, were invited to enjoy the beauty of Sukuh Temple. The buyers could know about the history of Sukuh Temple and also took photos around there. While the buyers enjoyed the Sukuh Temple, my volunteer friends and I decided to stay in the bus because of the limited time. The second destination was Kemuning Tea Garden. In Kemuning Tea Garden there were few activities done by the buyers such as outbound and lunch. But before I joined the activity, I heard from the committees that there were sellers that came in the hotel to do the registration. As a volunteer in sellers division, it was my responsibility to assist with anything related to sellers. After hearing the news, I went back to Solo immediately together with some of the committees. At approximately 1 p.m. I arrived at the Aston Solo Hotel then I went to my room to put my bag and stuff before I did my job. But when I asked the committees about the sellers, apparently there was no seller that came in the hotel. So I end up staying in my room and had nothing to do. Feeling bored, I asked the committees what I should do. Then one the committees asked me to go down to the ground floor to help another volunteer arranged the room distribution for buyers after the camping finished. After I arrived on the ground floor, I found that the room distribution for the buyers was not

27 prepared by the committees so together with my volunteer friend, we asked assistance from Aston Solo Hotel to make the list of room distribution. The committee, who managed the accommodation for buyers, unfortunately still followed the camping so I handled the room distribution with my friend. After the list was finished, we gave a room card for buyers to access the room but the card is uncompleted so there was several that still missing. At approximately 1 p.m. the buyers were arrived in the hotel then they directly went to my desk to ask the room card for check in. The process of room distribution was a little chaotic. Some buyers complained about the process of room distribution which ran slowly and they also complained about the roommate that did not meet their expectations. Besides, the room distribution assisted by two volunteers who are my friend and I, and we all girls. We felt mentally drop down when the buyers complained to us with a little anger, and the buyer who complained were mostly men. We should work in a rush and we should make sure to the hotel staff about the missing room card, but finally the room distribution could be finished well. After the buyers check in, the next activity was dinner party at Ngarsopuro. At first, all the volunteers should assist the dinner party, but after having some problems with the room distribution, some of the volunteers decided to stay in the hotel including me, just in case there was a problem in the hotel. In the afternoon I went upstairs to my room to take a bath

28 and prepared myself, after that I went back again to the ground floor. The dinner was started at 7 p.m. and all the buyers wore traditional costume from each of their provinces. The dinner party entitled Ketaman Asmoro was held in Ngarsopuro. Not only the buyers, but the committees also wore costumes for dinner. The committee wore puppet character as the dress code. The concept of the dinner was made to increase the love of Indonesian cultural diversity. When I stayed in the hotel I did some activities such as checking the seller s promo material that had still been unfinished and received several sellers that came to do the registration. After the dinner party finished, there were buyers that still had a problem with the room distribution, so I helped them by asking the room key to the receptionist. All volunteers, which stayed in the hotel, had not had dinner so we went out to have dinner together. I came back to the hotel at approximately 1 a.m., and then I directly went to the Sido Luhur Ballroom where the table top session next morning would be held. I joined a short technical meeting and I was briefed for the table top session next morning and we also checked the seller s promo material and prepared the ballroom where the table top was held. I prepared the banner and arranged the table and the chair for registration. At 3 a.m. I went back to my room to sleep. February 15th, 2015 became the most important day for Bengawan Solo Travel Mart The third day was when the main

29 agenda, the table top session, held. I woke up at 5 a.m., then took a bath and prepared myself. For the table top session I wore formal clothes, make up and had my hair styled in a bun. After that I went down to the fifth floor to have breakfast before assisted the registration. At 7 pm before the table top started, I handled the registration for sellers. In the sellers registration I guided the sellers delegation to fill the registration data such as the institution name and the signature as a proof that they came to the table top session. The first session of the table top was held at 8 a.m. and before the second session was held, there was a coffee break at 10 a.m. At 12 a.m. all the table top participants had lunch and it was also time to break. The table top session was basically a transaction between seller and the buyer. The sellers were tourism stakeholder from Surakarta and around such as hotel, restaurants, travel agencies, transport provider, traditional food vendor, and etc. Meanwhile, buyers came from travel agents in Indonesia or foreign countries. There were several steps in the transaction; (1) first, sellers and buyer changed name card, then sellers gave a presentation about their product to the buyer; (2) after that they did the transaction. Usually the sellers gave souvenirs to the buyers such as voucher or small gift and also brochure about their product. Products which sold by the sellers such as tourism package, accommodation, transports, and traditional culinary products of Surakarta. The sellers participants were Solo

30 Paragon Hotel and Residences, Vienna Tour & Travel, Citilink Airlines, D'duwa Oleh-Oleh, and etc, meanwhile the buyers were Zata Tour, Travarey Holiday, Pesona Ceria Travel, TX Travel, Trans Borneo, and etc. Table Top activity basically became a medium to sell tourism product from Surakarta to the tourism stakeholder from other cities in Indonesia. Hopefully, the table top activity in Bengawan Solo Travel Mart 2015 would give benefits, especially for the tourism industry in Surakarta and the buyers that came from all cities around Indonesia would be more interested in the tourism potencies of Solo and certainly would bring more tourists to visit Surakarta. At the break time, buyer from Hong Kong Miss Iris Hau asked me where the rest room is and I gave her direction to the restroom. That was the first time I speak with her because during the event she was helped by the committee. Although she just spoke a little, I felt that her pronunciation was pretty clear for person who lived in the country that did not use English as mother tongue. Besides assisting the registration in table top session, I also took several photos for documentation when the session was almost end. The table top session finished at 3 p.m. and after the table top finished, I entered the ballroom to clean up the equipment then had lunch. In the afternoon I went upstairs to my room to pack all my back and ready to go home. Before went home, I had some photos with all the committees and all the volunteer team.

31 It was such a new experience for me to have an internship in a big tourism event. As an English Diploma student, unfortunately I rarely used English during the event. But one of the unforgettable experiences was when I could speak directly with Miss Iris Hau, buyers from Hong Kong although it just a little. I also often found new English word, especially when I stayed in the Hotel such as concierge, hotelier, etc. It enriched my English vocabulary especially vocabulary that related with tourism and hospitality. Problems are regular things faced by every organization. The volunteer division of Bengawan Solo Travel Mart 2015 also had its own problem. The lack of communication and briefing became the major problem in Bengawan Solo Travel Mart It often caused misunderstanding between the committees and fellow volunteers, for example when I did the room distribution for buyers. The committees did not give me the list of the room distribution. Finally, I asked assistance from Aston Solo Hotel to make the room distribution list. The lack of volunteers also became a problem, although it did not really affect the event. But as a big event, the committees should anticipate by adding more volunteers for the event. In Bengawan Solo Travel Mart 2015 there were 29 committees and 10 volunteers, meanwhile there were many jobs desk to do in Bengawan Solo Travel Mart The number of committees and volunteers were not balanced so it caused many problems. For example, when the

32 committees were asked help from the volunteers, but at the same time the volunteers were busy with the other job desk. The divisions of the volunteers were also unbalance. There were only 10 volunteers and mostly they worked in pick up division. It simply affected the volunteers in sellers, buyers, and secretariat division, which only assisted by two people. B. The problem faced by the volunteer during Bengawan Solo Travel Mart A big event usually has so many problems that can affect the activities of the event. The arising problem must be solved as soon as possible to prevent further problems. As I mention before in previous sub, one of them is the lack of communication and briefing. Less communication and briefing make the coordination of the event do not work in order and often caused misunderstanding. To solve this problem, the committees of Bengawan Solo Travel Mart 2015 should try to give a briefing to the volunteers before every activity in Bengawan Solo Travel Mart 2015 started. Also the committees should hold an evaluation each day. It will prevent the same mistakes happen in the next day. For example, I had a problem about the room distribution that I already mentioned in the previous sub chapter. The problem should not have occurred if the committees briefed the volunteers first.

33 As an English Diploma student who worked in tourism event, I observed many things related with English in Bengawan Solo Travel Mart For international tourism event, the committees did not equip the volunteer with English. Although there was just one buyer from foreign country, but it was still important for the volunteer to understand English both spoken and written. It could be anticipation just in case the foreign buyer asked for assistance from the volunteer. Furthermore, at this event the volunteers should stay in the hotel for several days and some of the volunteer did not understand English well, so they were sometimes confused with some terms related to hospitality. For example when I needed the towel in my room replaced with the clean one by the room boy, my friend was mistakenly place clean the room door sign instead of make up the room sign. The result was the room boy just cleaned my room but did not replace the towel, the bedspread, the doormat and etc. Another example was when one of the committees asked my friend to call the concierge. My friend did not understand what the concierge means, so he asked me and I helped him to search the concierge while explain what the concierge was. To anticipate this problem, the committees should provide the volunteer with English and knowledge especially related ton tourism and hospitality. They should give a short course a month or maybe a week before the event started.

34 Besides, another problem found during the job training was the lack of volunteers. There were only ten volunteers in Bengawan Solo Travel Mart 2015 but it was not enough for a big event. To anticipate this problem, the committees of Bengawan Solo Trave l Mart 2015 alongside with Surakarta Culture and Tourism Department should socialize the event to public citizens, especially to the college student to gain the interest in tourism event. The socialization could be done by holding a road show and seminar in many universities and posting information about the event through social media or newspaper. By doing socialization it would attract the public, especially young people to apply as a volunteer in Bengawan Solo Travel Mart 2015.