Service of Excellent Training for Ecotourism Actors in Gunung Leuser National Park, Langkat Regency, North Sumatra
Writer: Claudina Sibarani, Programme Associate
Editor: Firra Kholisha Mustika, Communication
DESMA Center held "Excellent Service Training" on April 14-15, 2022 in the Batu Katak Ecotourism area, Batujongjong Village, Bahorok District, Langkat Regency. This activity is part of a program to strengthen the capacity of tourism Human Resources (HR) around area III of Gunung Leuser National Park. This training is aimed at community groups who are tourism business actors and the Batu Katak Tourism Institute (LBPK).
Service is the most important element in the business industry, especially the tourism industry. Tourism products can be categorized into 2 parts, namely tangible products and products that cannot be seen intangible.Tourism offers services on every movement provided to visitors or tourists. Not only in every service-based service but services are also important to real products, for example the way food and beverage providers provide orders, the way of community service that offers supporting facilities in the destination, and all forms of services provided to tourists. Of course, service is an important element that must be considered in order to provide a total experience to tourists. To get the total experience of entrepreneurs, industry players must be able to provide excellent service in various situations.
The excellent service training on the first day was carried out in 2 sessions which included the presentation of material related to Service of Excellent through tourism awareness and the dimensions of service quality. In the first session (1), the training activity began with an evaluation of the participants' understanding and expertise in the form of a pre-test in the form of conveying the meaning of images through self-reflection. Through this evaluation, participants are expected to be able to show their confidence when completing the evaluation. The material was followed by reviewing the meaning of tourism, the role of tourism as a contributor to GDP, foreign exchange and employment as well as the importance of tourism awareness in the development of tourism and sapta pesona. Furthermore, participants got the opportunity to discuss through a question and answer session. In the second session (2) participants were guided to find out the dimensions of excellent service quality which include attitude, attention, action, ability, appearance, and responsibility. The next material presented was a variety of expressions (facial expressions) and body movements (body language) that are good in the application of excellent service.
On the second day (2) the training was continued with discussion activities related to the material on the previous day. Introduction to the quality standards of service that must be provided to tourists, various possible positive and negative responses from tourists, how to deal with complaints from tourists, and how to choose the right words in responding. To build a positive image of destination service, participants are encouraged to be able to pay attention to attitude, attributes, appearance and confidence, and cultivate 5S (smiles, greetings, greetings, manners and courtesy). On this occasion, participants were invited to participate in question and answer sessions and discussions, then participants were also trained to handle various situations such as handling tourist complaints.
Through this excellent service training, the participants who are tourist business actors in Batu Katak Ecotourism, are expected to be able to know the importance of excellent service in order to provide a total tourist experience so as to give a good impression in the Batu Katak Ecotourism destination.
Service of Excellent Training, is part of the Ecotourism Digitalization Project and Strengthening the Capacity of Ecotourism Actors in Gunung Leuser National Park, Langkat Regency, North Sumatra which is implemented by DESMA Center.
Digitalization of Ecotourism and Strengthening the Capacity of Ecotourism Actors in Gunung Leuser National Park, Langkat Regency, North Sumatra, which is implemented by desma center, is a development project of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry of the Republic of Indonesia, in collaboration with the ASEAN Center for Biodiversity (ACB), jointly financed by the Federal Republic of Germany through KfW.
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The Ecotourism Digitalization program and Strengthening the Capacity of Ecotourism Actors consists of a series of training activities which include: (1) Guiding Tour Training (2) Itinerary Preparation and Tour Quotation Training (3) Service Excellence Training (4) Homestay Management Training (5) Culinary Training (6) Hygine &sanitation training (7) Financial Management Training (8) Social Media Management Training (9) Story Telling Training, Caption Writing, write Ecotourism Promotional Articles.
This project also facilitates (1) the implementation of CHSE certification in the tourist destination category, (2) business matching, (3) Fam trips (4) Stakeholders Networking, and (5) Development of a digital platform that will synergize tourism and creative economy businesses in the Gunung Leuser National Park Area in the Langkat Regency, North Sumatra.
The Ecotourism Digitalization program and Strengthening the Capacity of Ecotourism Actors is aimed at providing solutions to market access challenges, connecting attractions and improving quality tourist products in the TNGL region III area. This is in line with the government's objectives contained in the National Medium-Term Plan for 2020 – 2024, the Strategic Plan of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy 2020 – 2024 and the National Tourism Development Master Plan 2010 – 2025.
