Aceh Blogger Gathering yang ditaja oleh Dinas Kebudayaan dan Pariwisata Aceh di Greenland Jantho, Aceh Besar, minggu lalu menghasilkan ragam reaksi. Silaturrahmi salah satunya.
Aceh Blogger Gathering that hosted by Department of Aceh Tourism and Culture in Greenland Jantho, Aceh Besar, lastweek resulted many reactions. One of them is friendship.
Blogger Aceh setidaknya dipertemukan dengan dua blogger nasional yang kece, Olyve Bendon dan Taufan Gio . Keduanya memberikan semangat, pengalaman, trik, dan hal lainnya terkait ngeblog di hari pertama event tersebut.
Many Aceh Bloggers—a name for those who blog in Aceh—were brought together to meet two national bloggers, Olyve Bendon and Taufan Gio. Both of them have injected us with the spirit of blogging, experiences, tips and tricks and many things in blogging on the first day of event.
Beberapa hari usai pertemuan itu, saya buka laman Disgiovery-nya Gio. Di beranda blognya yang bersih, saya digoda untuk buka artikel Kerala Blog Express 3 is Coming! Saya kira dia akan mendaftar, ternyata sudah ke India!
Then, several days after the event, I read disgiovery.com, a Gio’s blog. On his beauty blog homepage, I was tempted to click the article Kerala Blog Express 3 is Coming! I thought that he is going to register for the competition. In fact, he was been there.
Kerala, satu negara bagian di India Selatan. Terkenal oleh keindahan alammnya dan masyarakat yang ramah. Dihimpit oleh Western Ghats di timur dan Laut Arabia di barat, membuat Kerala salah satu negara menakjubkan di India.
Kerala is a state in South India. Besides its famous natural beauty, Kerala is also home for everyone. Everyone who come there will be welcome by the hospitality people. Squeezed between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats, Kerala is one of India’s most beautiful state in the country.
Western Ghats, kawasan dataran tinggi yang salah satu bukit terkenalnya bernama Bukit Sahyadri. Rumah bagi keanekaragaman hayati; terdapat 25 spesies flora dan fauna yang dikenal di dunia. Kerala, berada di Kawasan Sahyadri itu sendiri.
Western Ghats, a highland with its famous Sahyadri hill. It also home for the biodiversity; there are about 25 species of flora and fauna that world’s well-known. While Kerala is located in Sahyadri region.
Garis pantai dari Laut Arabia (bagian dari Samudera Hindia) pun memberikan sisi elok lainnya bagi negara bagian berpopuluasi 33 juta jiwa ini. Termashurlah nama Pantai Konkon dan Pantai Malabar disebabkan oleh letak geografisnya yang indah.
The Coastal line of Arabian Sea (part of Hindian Ocean) also reflect the exotism of this country with 33 millions population. Its fascinating geographic cause the famous Konkon and Malabar Beach.
Kementerian Pariwisata Kerala membranding “Kerala Tourism” sejak 2014 dengan program Kerala Blog Express, yang menghadirkan 25 travel blogger se-dunia melalui voting online.
The Ministry of Kerala Tourism branded a name for Kerala Tourism since 2014 as Kerala Blog Express program which invited 25 travel bloggers around the world through online voting.
Blogger terpilih nantinya akan ikuti tur darat dengan bis khusus bernama Kerala Blog Express. Eksplorasi dari selatan ke utara Kerala selama dua minggu. Lintasi perbukitan, susur sungai, hingga memandikan gajah.
The chosen blogger would board a branded Kerala Blog Express luxury bus. The long road journey to explore Kerala begin from the southern part of the state to its north would take for two weeks. Across the hills, rivers, and bathe the elephants as well.
“Program ini merupakan sebuah inisiatif bagus di dalam negeri (Kerala) untuk menarik minat para travel blogger menikmati langsung kehidupan, budaya dan alam kita,” kata A.P. Anilkumar, Menteri Pariwisata Kerala.
“This is a first-of-its-kind initiative in the country to attract the travel blogger community for a first-hand experience of our land, its geography and culture,” said Mr. A.P. Anilkumar, Minister for Tourism, Kerala.
Bisa jadi, konsep promosi pariwisata ala Kerala Blog Express itu bagian dari DOT, BAS, dan POS, yang tahun lalu dijalankan Kementerian Pariwisata Indonesia—di negeri saya.
Let’s say, Kelara Tourism branding with its Kerala Blog Express could be part of DOT, BAS, and POS, that had running by Department of Indonesian Tourism since last year—in my country.
Destination, Origin, Time (DOT), stretegi pemasaran pariwisata yang mengelompokkan Destinasi, memfokuskan wisatawan dari Asal negara berpotensi, dan Waktu tertentu/musiman.
Destination, Origin, Time (DOT) are marketing strategy of tourism which is focus on Destination, where tourist come from (Origin) and seasonally (Time) attraction.
Strategi DOT selanjutnya digulirkan dengan konsep BAS (Branding, Advertising, dan Selling) atau dan POS (Paid media, Own media, dan Social media).
The DOT strategy running with (Branding, Advertising, dan Selling) and POS (Paid media, Own media, dan Social media) concept as well.
Untuk setiap target pemasaran dalam konsep BAS, perlunya di-branding, iklankan, dan jual paket wisata.
Each goal of marketing in BAS concept, it needed branding, advertising, and selling tourism package.
Sementara itu, Kementerian Pariwisata dengan konsep POS akan membayar media massa, bikin website sendiri, dan menggandeng pelaku sosial media—include blogger—untuk pemasaran, yang dikenal sebagai marketing berbasis IT.
Besides, Department of Tourism with POS concept would pay for mass media, create and manage own media, and partnering with social media influencer such as blogger in marketing known as marketing based on Information and Technology (IT).
“Sekarang itu sudah menjadi POSE, ditambahnya E yaitu Endorse. Kita minta tokoh-tokoh untuk mengendorse destinasi wisata,” jelas Reza Fahlevi, Kepala Disbudpar Aceh pada malam diskusi Aceh Blogger Gathering di Jantho, awal Desember lalu.
“It is become POSE now by adding E which means Endorse. We ask our public figure to endorse our tourism destination sites,” said Reza Fahlevi, Head of Department of Aceh Tourism and Culture to Aceh Blogger Gathering participants in the night of early December in Jantho Aceh Besar, Indonesia.
Memang semakin hari, pariwisata Indonesia terus bertumbuh. Hingga 2014, wisatawan mancanegara datang ke Tanah Air sekitar 9,4 juta dari total pengunjung 1.134 juta turis, tumbuh pesat 7,2 %.
Indeed, day after day, the number of Indonesian visitors has increased significantly. By 2014, there are 9,4 millions of foreign tourist who visited Indonesia of 1,134 millions total visitors. Means, it increased about 7,2 %.
Industri pariwisata pun mendongkrak penerimaan devisa bagi negara semenjak 2012 dan pada 2014 mencapai 10 juta dolar AS.
The Tourism industry also strengthen Indonesian foreign exchange receipt since 2012 where is by 2014 earned about 10 millions US dollar.
Namun untuk untuk level Asia, Indonesia nangkring di posisi 9 sedangkan India di peringkat 5 dengan penerimaan devisa terbesar dari sektor pariwisata. Per 2014, Negeri Bollywood ini mencapai 18 juta dolar AS.
However, among other Asian countries, Indonesia still ranked in 9th while India has ranked at 5th in tourism sector for foreign exchange receipt. By 2014, the Bollywood country got 18 million US dollar.
India juga menempati peringkat 11 dunia dalam daftar 20 negara prioritas pasar wisatawan, per 2014.
India also has ranked 11th of Top 20 Country of Prioritization of Tourism Market by 2014.
Tak salah jika Indonesia perlu belajar pada India, dengan kondisi alam dan populasi penduduk hampir sama. Sama-sama luas dan banyak. Kerala Blog Express bisa menjadi bahan ajar bagi pemerintah pusat hingga daerah.
Therefore, Indonesia should learn from India, considering to both geographic and population conditions are almost similar. Kerala Blog Express could be an example to Indonesian government as well as its regional governments.
***
Misal Emanuelle Siracusa, dalam travel blog yang dikelola bareng istrinya, menggambarkan bagaimana nikmatnya peserta Kerala Blog Express 2 menelusuri Kerala menggunakan bus.
For instance, Emmanuel Siracusa on his travel blog -managed with his fiance- describe how excited feeling the fellows of Kerala Blog Express Season 2 got during the trip to Kerala by luxury bus.
Bis melintasi dataran tinggi, dengan panorama perkebunan teh. Mereka turun dari bis, bercengkerama dengan petani, bersahabat dengan alam.
The bus crossed tea-covered hills of the Western Ghats. The bloggers then get off the bus when they arrived in the spot to get in touch with the farmers and to feel the pure nature.
Mereka juga susuri sungai dan danau—backwaters—dengan houseboat (perahu rumah), mengintip kehidupan nelayan. Melihat aksi satwa yang dilindungi. Tentu juga jalan desa dengan banyak pepohonan kelapa yang menjadi khas Kerala.
They also follow the rivers and backwaters –a lake- with its houseboat, peeking the fisherman’s life. Enjoying the protected fauna life. And,of course, the palm-shaded green tree as Kerala uniqueness—it also called coconut trees.
Paling menarik saya adalah ketika peserta tur itu melihat penduduk menarik jaring pukat di bibir pantai. Sebagian mereka kemudian bergabung dengan penduduk pesisir mencoba tradisi penangkapan ikan ini.
The most interesting things to me is when the fellow participants saw the villagers pulling up the trawl nets in the seaside. Some of them then joined the fisherman to experience this traditional fishing.
Ini mengingatkan saya pada adat nelayan Aceh yang juga doyan tarek pukat. Apakah antara Aceh dan India punya kaitan sejarah terkait hal ini?
Seeing these things recalled my memory to may hometown, Aceh, Indonesia. When our fisherman do the same thing like Keralan’s did. We call it “tarek pukat”. It also turns me to the question “did Aceh and India has the rope of history related to this traditions?
Saya seandainya terpilih, tentu akan bisa menyelami Kerala lebih dalam, bagaimana program itu bisa membantu tingkatkan industri pariwisata India. Apa yang telah mereka branding, iklankan, dan jual ke pasar dunia? Dan mencari tahu soal tarek pukat.
If I will be the part of this event, hopefully I am one of the chosen participants, I am going to digging Kerala deeply to know it better. How come this program can develop the tourism industry in India. How they do the brand, ads, and sell to the world? And for sure, finding more detailed information about “tarek pukat”, trawl nets traditions in here.
Jika saya memang pantas mewakili aspirasi Anda ke negara dengan slogan pariwisata God’s own Country—Negeri Kepunyaan Dewa—ini, silakan voting saya melalui klik gambar berikut.
If I deserved this great opportunity to represent your aspirations to visit the slogan ‘God’s Own Country’, please vote for me by clicking the picture below.
Caranya mudah sekali. (Pura-pura saya melihat Anda di layar kaca). Ketik KEB3 [spasi] Makmur Dimila kirim ke nomor di bawah ini XXXX. Pertama masuk dulu ke akun Facebook pribadi Anda. Lalu kembali ke halaman ini dan klik di kolom “Vote Now” di bagian kanan atas.
It’s very easy. (Pretending that I look at you on the screen). Then type KEB3 [spasi] Makmur Dimila, send to the number below XXXX. First please log in to your Facebook account. Then back to this page then click “Vote Now” column on the right-top.
Shukriya. []
Writer: Makmur Dimila
English Editor: Marcel Elfaradey
Berjalanlah… dan ceritakan pengalamanmu 🙂