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TRAVEL storytelling is considered effective as a method to explore the unique and attractive tourism values of a cultural tourism destination.
According to the Director of Nature, Culture and Artificial Tourism of the Ministry of Tourism & Creative Economy, Alexander Reyaan said travel storytelling can be a tool to promote cultural values in a tourist attraction. Such as Sawahlunto City, West Sumatra, which has been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO on July 6, 2019.
“Because it has been designated a world cultural heritage, Sawahlunto should have a much better selling value than other cultural heritages. Tourism Ministry has committed to continue promoting Sawahlunto tourist destinations. The Ministry will make Sawahlunto as a destination favored by tourists and will be prioritized for future development, especially by exploring its cultural potential,” he said.
Meawhile the Head of the Historical and Museum of Cultural Heritage, Historical Heritage and Museum of the City of Sawahlunto, Rahmat Gino Sea Games explained, the name Sawahlunto came from two words, namely Sawah and Lunto. So this rice field is crossed by the Lunto River or Batang Lunto, so the city is named Sawahlunto.
In its development, continued Rahmat, Sawahlunto was indeed known as a mining city during the Dutch East Indies occupation. Sawahlunto is indeed known as one of the coal producing areas.
“Because it is known as a mining town, the people who live in this city also have a variety of backgrounds. “There are Europeans and Indo-European descendants, there are Chinese people, as well as indigenous people like Minangkabau and miners called ‘Chain People’,” he explained.
This of course makes there are diverse cultural traditions in Sawahlunto. Thus, at the 43rd UNESCO World Heritage Committee Session on July 6, 2019 in Baku, Azerbaijan, Sawahlunto was designated a World Heritage Site, namely “Ombilin Coal Mining Heritage of Sawahlunto”.
Meanwhile, related to travel storytelling, a writer Astrid Savitri said there were many things that could be told about Sawahlunto. According to Astrid, the presentation of historical and cultural values through Travel Storytelling will be far more interesting for tourists than the delivery of historical facts alone.
“With travel storytelling, we can invite the audience to feel the feel of the adventure of the attraction through the story. In that story, we combine the power of data, visualization, and narration, then add a touch of empathy and emotion,” Astrid concluded. [traveltext.id]
