A team of UGM Community Service Program (KKN-PPM) students in Period 4 of 2024 in Taman District adopted a major program titled Village Tourism Area Development to Improve the Economy of the Community in Taman District, Madiun City.
One of the activities carried out was organizing a seminar on Optimizing the Potential of the Creative Economy to Support the Tourism Sector in Taman District, Madiun City.
The seminar took place on Wednesday (Jan. 22) in Taman District, Madiun City. Dr. Destha Titi Raharjana from UGM’s Center for Tourism Studies (Puspar UGM) was the speaker.
The Taman District Government and the Madiun City Regional Development Planning, Research, and Development Agency (Bappelitbangda) supported the seminar.
Representatives from the Madiun City Bappelitbangda, the Madiun City Culture, Tourism, Youth, and Sports Office, the Madiun City Trade Office, the Madiun City Manpower Office, the Madiun City Investment and One-Stop Integrated Service Office, village heads, and representatives of creative economy entrepreneurs from all villages in Taman District attended the seminar.
Dr. Raharjana, a senior researcher at Puspar UGM, emphasized the urgency of developing the creative economy sector by identifying its landscape and opportunities and formulating strategic recommendations for strengthening the creative economy ecosystem in Taman District, Madiun City.
According to him, past experiences could serve as a foundation for Taman District in developing its tourism area.
Tourism experiences that become a region’s identity can be achieved through collaboration among the region’s driving elements. Tourism players can collectively create unique experiences as the selling points of tourism in Taman District.
“Create an ambiance, an atmosphere that gives Madiun City a unique sense, something different from others, because tourism is different,” she explained.
For Dr. Raharjana, creative destinations will be able to compete. This is because tourism development demands both knowledge and creativity.
Moreover, he envisions future tourism development leaning towards a creativity-based tourism model. This aligns with the economy’s shift towards the creative economy era.
“The Madiun City Government has also issued Regional Regulation No. 11/2024 on the development of the Creative Economy. The key to the creative economy lies in ideas and creativity. Exploring, presentation, and packaging are sought in creative economy development. Packaging can be done thematically based on clusters through a regional approach,” he elaborated.
The seminar organized by the KKN-PPM students received a warm response from the community. They were enthusiastic about participating in the activity, especially the creative economy entrepreneurs from nine villages in Taman District.
They even openly shared stories about their achievements in developing the creative economy and their hopes for the future regarding product marketing.
Dr. Raharjana hopes that this seminar can serve as a good starting point for the growth of the creative economy and support the acceleration of the tourism sector.
The spirit of creativity and market expansion by creative economy entrepreneurs is expected to receive attention and follow-up assistance from related regional organizations.
“The development of the creative economy as part of the tourism sector’s growth in a region requires a platform, namely the tourism awareness group (pokdarwis). The formation of pokdarwis cannot be separated from identifying local champions as the driving figures,” Dr. Raharjana said.
The seminar’s sharing session concluded that the enthusiasm of the creative economy entrepreneurs from each village in Taman District was viewed positively.
The optimization of pokdarwis’ function as a tourism institution, driven by the initiative of the community and tourism activists, is expected to serve as a platform for accelerating the creative economy.
Yusuf Asmadi, the Head of Taman District, was pleased with the positive response from Bappelitbangda representatives and tourism players. He welcomed and appreciated the seminar organized by UGM KKN-PPM students.
“Thank you to everyone involved in organizing the seminar as part of the UGM KKN-PPM work program. We hope that the four villages in Taman District that serve as the KKN-PPM’s focus—Manisrejo, Pandean, Banjarejo, and Mojorejo—will become triggers for connected tourism in Taman District. We will soon realize this, and all villages in Taman District will be connected into a single tourism package,” he said.
Febri, the person in charge of the Parekraf Seminar work program, stated that developing the creative economy is an important component of tourism development.
The urgency of developing the creative economy lies in empowering entrepreneurs. It becomes a practical pillar in tourism development by providing “something to buy.”
“It’s not just about buying a product, but also how tourists or visitors can buy an experience. This aligns with Taman District’s broader goal of developing its tourism sector,” he said.
He added that besides the major tourism theme, UGM KKN-PPM students in Madiun City also carry out various community assistance activities, including education, MSMEs, and other fields.
Author: Agung Nugroho
Post-editor: Afifudin Baliya