CHAPTER III DISCUSSION. A. General Description of Wonosobo Tourism and Creative Economy Office

Transcription

1 CHAPTER III DISCUSSION A. General Description of Wonosobo Tourism and Creative Economy Office 1. History of Wonosobo and Wonosobo Tourism and Creative Economy Office The word Wonosobo is derived from Javanese language Wono which means forest and Sobo which means visit. Wonosobo means visiting a forest. At the beginning of the 17 th century, there were three wanderers. They were Kyai Kolodete, Kyai Karim, and Kyai Walik. On the way, they separated and occupied three different areas. Kyai Kolodete opened a settlement in Dieng Plateau area, Kyai Karim opened a settlement around Kalibeber, and Kyai Walik chose an area which is called Wonosobo in the future. Since Wonosobo is located on highland, Wonosobo has many tourist attractions with thousands of beauty, such as: nature tourism, artificial tourism, cultural tourism, heritage tourism, and culinary tourism. To promote and manage those tourist attractions, Wonosobo Government established a government institution called Dinas Pariwisata dan Kebudayaan Kabupaten Wonosobo (DISPARBUD). However, based on District Regulation No , Dinas Pariwisata dan Kebudayaan Kabupaten Wonosobo was changed to Kantor Pariwisata dan Ekonomi Kreatif, and its function was reduced. Kantor Pariwisata dan Ekonomi Kreatif Kabupaten Wonosobo only promotes tourist attractions in Wonosobo. 15

2 16 2. Vision and Mission of Wonosobo Tourism and Creative Economy Office Vision : The establishment of Wonosobo cultured society, reliable tourist attractions, and prosperous society. Mission : 1. Preserving the value of diversity and cultural wealth in order to strengthen the identity and the character of the society. 2. Developing the competitive tourism industries, sustainable tourist destinations, and applying a responsible marketing. 3. Developing the resources of culture and tourism. 4. Creating the responsive, transparent, and accountable governance. 3. Location of Wonosobo Tourism and Creative Economy Office Tourism and Creative Economy Office of Wonosobo is located at JL. Raya Dieng, No. 104, Bugangan, Kec. Wonosobo (Central Java). 4. The Activities in Wonosobo Tourism and Creative Economy Office The writer conducted the job training in Wonosobo Tourism and Creative Economy Office for approximately 100 hours, from August 3, 2015 until August 31, The working hours were from am pm from Monday to Thursday and am am on Friday.

3 17 During the job training, the writer worked in promotion and partnership division. The writer joined the officials of promotion and partnership division in attending some promotion events, such as: the election of mas dan mbak Wonosobo 2015, pokdarwis convention 2015 in Banjarnegara, and Telaga Menjer expo a. The Election of Mas dan Mbak Wonosobo 2015 The election of mas dan mbak Wonosobo is an annual event done by Wonosobo Tourism and Creative Economy Office to choose the tourism ambassadors. This year, the election was conducted on August 3-7, On August 3, 2015, the writer helped the committees to organize the technical meeting. The writer waited on the re-registration desk and gave instructions to the participants how they should fulfill the presence. The writer also gave information what the participants will do during the technical meeting. - On August 4, 2015, the writer was asked by the head of Wonosobo Tourism and Creative Economy office to join him attending the fostering of the tourism ambassador candidates. He asked the writer to join him because there would be any information that might be useful for the writer. - On August 5, 2015, the schedule was out bond and visiting UMKM. Due to this activity was only conducted by the participants, so the writer did not join it.

4 18 - On August 7, 2015, the writer attended the grand final of mas dan mbak Wonosobo The event started at pm, and ended at pm. During the event, the writer got new knowledge about tourism, especially the duty of mas and mbak Wonosobo in promoting tourist attractions in Wonosobo. b. Pokdarwis Convention 2015 Pokdarwis (Kelompok Sadar Wisata) is one of local tourism development efforts in order to increase the role of the local society for tourism awareness campaign. Pokdarwis Central Java convention, which was held on August 26-28, 2015, was an event to coach the tourism awareness, to exchange ideas, and to build a network among Pokdarwis in Central Java. Through this convention, hopefully the local society will contribute directly to the development of the tourism sectors around their environment. This convention was followed by 35 Pokdarwis in Central Java, where each Pokdarwis represented their Regencies. However, Brebes Regency and Kudus Regency did not send their participants, so there were only 33 Pokdarwis which followed this convention. Wonosobo sent 3 participants. They represented Pokdarwis Pesona Bima. There were many activities during the convention, such as visited tourist destinations Serulingmas Zoo and The Pikas Adventure. Besides, there were three competitions, they were: art competition, yel-yel competition, and quiz competition. The juries of the competitions were:

5 19 - Ir. Siti Mulyatmi Margareta - Eko Suseno Matruty, SE., MM., a lecturer of UKSW Salatiga and a tourism consultan of Central Java - Ny. Eny Haryanti Bambang, S.Pd., M.Pd. from TP PKK of Central Java - Kompol Santoso, SE., M.Hum, from Tourist Police of Central Java - Drs. Laksono Wijayanto, MM., MBA. from STIEPARI of Semarang During the convention, the writer followed Mrs. Muasaroh, the companion of the participants from Wonosobo. She asked the writer to join her attending this convention because she expected the writer could observe and absorb the knowledge from the convention. Besides got many information and knowledge during the convention, the writer also met many great people who expert in tourism field. The writer got the opportunity to ask them about tourism directly. c. Telaga Menjer Expo 2015 Telaga Menjer Expo 2015 was an event initiated by team KKN PPM UGM JTG-048 to promote the potential of the local society by blending the UMKM products and the tourist destination around Garung Sub district. It was conducted on August 23, 2015, located in Lake Menjer plaza, Garung, Wonosobo. The series of event were exercising together, local products expo, cultural creation stage, and spreading the fish seed. The writer was asked to attend the event with the officials of Wonosobo Tourism and Creative Economy office. During the event, the writer got new knowledge how to promote tourist destination and local

6 20 products together. By attending this event, the visitor did not only enjoy the view of Lake Menjer, but also bought the foods served by the local society or the products of local UMKM. Besides the activities above, the writer also undertook other daily activities. They were: a. Writing agenda of incoming mail received by Wonosobo Tourism and Economy Creative office. b. Writing official mail sent by Wonosobo Tourism and Economy Creative office. c. Answering telephone received by Wonosobo Tourism and Economy Creative office d. Delivering brochure about tourist destinations and events that will be held in Wonosobo to Tourist Information Centers, Hotels and other institutions in Wonosobo. e. Using the spare time in the job training to read some books in Wonosobo Tourism and Economy Creative office and asking the officials about something that the writer want to know.

7 21 B. The Problems Faced by The Writer During The Job Training and The Solutions The writer found some problems during the job training in Wonosobo Tourism and Economy Creative office. They were problems in joining some events outside Wonosobo and getting guidance from the internship mentor in the job training. 1. Problem in Joining Events Outside Wonosobo In promoting and developing tourist attractions in Wonosobo, the officials of promotion and partnership division usually attend official events related to tourism in Wonosobo and outside Wonosobo. The events can be for promotion purposes or training purposes. For example, Wonosobo Tourism and Creative Economy Office invited 7 small entrepreneurs in Wonosobo to promote their products, traditional herbal medicine in Indofair Suriname for a week. In the context of training, Wonosobo Tourism and Creative Economy Office sent their officials to join training programs in Wonosobo or outside Wonosobo. In order to get information and knowledge about promotion process and promotion strategy conducted by Wonosobo Tourism and Creative Economy Office, the writer was asked to join the officials when they attended the events. However, there was a problem faced by the writer when the officials attended events outside Wonosobo Regency. If the events were held not too far and not more than a day, the writer would join the officials, but when the events were held

8 22 more than one a day, the writer could not join them because the additional accommodation would be needed. Absolutely, this problem hampered the writer to collect information of the promotion activity done by Wonosobo Tourism and Creative Economy Office. To solve the problem, the writer tried to collect information by asking the officials how the event was going and what the purposes of the event. Sometimes, the officials gave the writer the even schedule, news event, and some pictures about the events situation. 2. Problem in getting guidance from the internship mentor In Wonosobo Tourism and Economy Creative office, the writer was given a mentor to guide the writer during the job training. The mentor was very kind. He gave the writer a very useful guidance on each occasion. However, the mentor chosen by Wonosobo Tourism and Economy Creative office was very busy. As the Head of Promotion and Partnership Division, he often assigned to attend promotion events or training outside Wonosobo for a long time, and it was impossible for him to always invite the writer to go with him. When the mentor was assigned outside Wonosobo, the writer sometimes did not have any work at the office. The writer sometimes also got difficulties to ask about promotion activities undertaken by Wonosobo Tourism and Economy Creative office. To overcome those problems, the writer used the spare time to get guidance from other officials in different division. Even though they worked in

9 23 different division, they could answer each question about promotion activities done by promotion and partnership division. Besides, the writer also did other works in the spare time like waiting front office desk and helping other division duties. C. The Problems Faced by Wonosobo Tourism and Creative Economy Office and The Solutions In promoting tourist attractions in Wonosobo, Wonosobo Tourism and Creative Economy Office had some problems. They were problem of limited fund and reduced scope of work. 1. Problem of limited fund In order to promote tourist attractions in Wonosobo, Wonosobo Tourism and Creative Economy Office used fund that they got from Wonosobo Government. They made activity plans and attached the details of fund, and then propose it to Wonosobo Government. However, Wonosobo Tourism and Creative Economy Office did not always get the whole fund they proposed. Sometimes, the government only gave a half from the fund they proposed. For example, fund proposed by Wonosobo Tourism and Creative Economy Office was Rp ,00 but the government only approved and gave Rp ,00.

10 24 This case absolutely hampered the efforts of Wonosobo Tourism and Creative Economy Office in promoting tourist attraction in Wonosobo, so that the promotion activities could not be done maximally. To overcome this problem, Wonosobo Tourism and Creative Economy Office tried to minimize the fund by revising their promotion plans. 2. Problem of Reduced Scope of Work. Initially, Wonosobo Tourism and Creative Economy was Dinas Pariwisata dan Kebudayaan Kabupaten Wonosobo (DISPARBUD). The main functions of DISPARBUD was promoting and managing cultures and tourist attractions in Wonosobo. However, based on District Regulation No , the name of DISPARBUD was changed to Wonosobo Tourism and Creative Economy Office and its function was reduced. Wonosobo Tourism and Creative Economy Office only promoted tourist attractions because the cultural sectors became the authority of DIKPORA Wonosobo. It was difficult to promote tourist attraction without its culture. Besides, Wonosobo Tourism and Creative Economy Office was not allowed to manage the money earned from the promotion. They only allowed promoting the tourist attraction while the result was given to BAPPEDA Wonosobo. This case absolutely complicated Wonosobo Tourism and Creative Economy Office in promoting tourist attractions in Wonosobo. To solve those problems, they tried to coordinate with Wonosobo Government as well. Mr. Agus

11 25 Purnomo as the Head of Wonosobo Tourism and Creative Economy Office said that although the authority of Wonosobo Tourism and Creative Economy Office was reduced, they would try their best to promote and to advance tourist attractions in Wonosobo. D. The Strategy of Wonosobo Tourism and Creative Economy Office in Promoting Tourist Attractions in Wonosobo In promoting tourist attractions in Wonosobo, Wonosobo Tourism and Creative Economy Office had three strategies as their reference. They were personal selling, advertising, and enhancing the public relations efforts. 1. Personal Selling Personal selling is the strategy of Wonosobo Tourism and Creative Economy office to communicate with the potential tourists directly. They set the tourists understanding toward the offered attractions by conducting festivals, exhibitions, and conventions; for examples: Attending POKDARWIS Central Java Province Convention in Banjar Negara, Cultural Art Week in Semarang, Indofair Exhibition in Suriname, and conducting annual event Dieng Culture Festival. Through events, festival, exhibitions, and convention, Wonosobo Tourism and Creative Economy office had opportunity to communicate with the potential tourists directly. The communication occurred when the visitors came to

12 26 Wonosobo Tourism and Creative Economy office stand, and then the officials gave presentation about tourist attractions in Wonosobo. 2. Advertising Advertising is promotional strategy of Wonosobo Tourism and Creative Economy Office by using printed media, electronic media and online media. Wonosobo Tourism and Creative Economy Office used brochures, catalogues, calendars, and tourism magazines to promote their products. Those printed media were distributed to hotels, travel agents, restaurants, TIC, and other places that usually visited by tourists. Besides, placing billboards at strategic spots were useful to promote tourist attractions in Wonosobo. For electronic media, Wonosobo Tourism and Creative Economy Office used radio and television to promote tourist attractions in Wonosobo. Besides, they made short film each year to be played at TIC, lobby of hotels, and other tourism industries. The short movies showed the wonderful tourist attractions in Wonosobo. While for online media, Wonosobo Tourism and Creative Economy Office had website at It contains information of events, tourist destinations, Wonosobo news, and other information about tourism in Wonosobo. Unfortunately, this website was not managed well. Many people asked information about Wonosobo through the website, but the responds from were slow.

13 27 3. Enhancing the Public Relations Efforts In order to earn public understanding and acceptance, it is important to make a positive image about Wonosobo. Wonosobo Tourism and Creative Economy Office relied on the natural environment in Wonosobo to attract tourists and the achievements received by Wonosobo and Wonosobo Government. Wonosobo has fresh air, the clean city, and the cold weather which is suitable for tourists who want to get a perfect environment. This natural environment used by Wonosobo Tourism and Creative Economy Office to attract tourists, especially tourists who wanted to soak up the tranquil atmosphere and recuperate their health. The achievements given to Wonosobo and the officials of Wonosobo Government were also used to create a good image of Wonosobo. In 2014, the Wonosobo Regent, Kholiq Arif was awarded Masyarakat Ilmu Pemerintahan Indonesia Besides, award given to Wonosobo foursquare as the most beautiful foursquare in Central Java also influenced tourists to come to Wonosobo.