Heaptalk, Jakarta — Tourism Ministry in Surakarta held a familiarization trip (famtrip) to intensively promote the tourism sector in Surakarta and the areas surrounding the city – known as Solo Raya. The three-day event invited journalists, social media influencers, and even, travel agents abroad to introduce the tourism destination while opening the collaboration to drive the tourism sector in the region.
Responding to the event, Surakarta Mayor, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, stated “I appreciate the implementation of Familiarization Trip 2022 that was held on 8-10 September 2022. This agenda is very helpful to introduce Surakarta’s tourist destination, both domestically and overseas”.
Gibran also stated that this measure is expected to positively impact the tourism sector in Surakarta, specifically contributing to the rise of the tourism economy in the post-pandemic. He is confident that the region contains attractive, comprehensive tourist destinations, including cultural heritage tourism, culinary destination, shopping tourism, ecotourism, and event tourism.
Tourist Destination in Solo Raya
The city that is famous for the “Bengawan Solo” song unexpectedly contains multiple enticing tourism destinations, one of which is Solo International Performing Arts (SIPA) 2022. As an international art show, the event showcases masterpieces of dances from various regions across Indonesia and also from abroad. Taking place at Benteng Vastenberg on September 8-10, SIPA 2022 has collaborated with several countries, such as Korea and India, to enliven the event.
In addition to SIPA, the city also offers other cultural attractions spanning Soldiers March by Keraton (palace) Surakarta’s soldier, Ramayana Ballet, Sriwedari human puppet, etc. Solo Raya also features cultural heritage tours, including Keraton Surakarta and Pura Mangkunegaran tours, Hindu temples (Candi Cetho, and Candi Sukuh), and several museums (Tumurun private museum, National Pers Monumen, House of Danar Hadi batik, etc).
Perceiving its traditional culinary delights, Surakarta has delicious signature dishes, such as nasi liwet (rice cooked in coconut milk, chicken broth, and spices), selat Solo (braised beef tenderloin in watery sauce with egg, vegetables, and potato chips), serabi Solo (rice flour pancake with coconut milk), shijack freshmilk, and sate buntel. Moreover, this city is known for its iconic dish, which is said to be favoured by President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo, namely tengkleng (mutton rib soup).
For those who are looking for an off-road adventure, Solo Raya offers Kemuning jeep-tour. Situated in Karanganyar Regency, Central Java, the tour provides different types of off-road adventures, from three-person jeeps that travels to Kemuning tea plantation, candi sukuh, and paragliding. This off-road tour will give the adrenaline rush as it will pass the very small and extreme pathways and will go through mud and small streams.
