Active Tourism as a Concept That Supports Sepuran-Kepil Adventurous Journey

Overview

From the geographical aspect, Sapuran and Kepil Districts are located in one of the strategic areas of Wonosobo Regency, precisely in the south gate area, which is one of the entrances to Wonosobo Regency. Its location at the foot of the mountain makes this area blessed with beautiful natural scenery, making it a potential main attraction in Sapuran and Kepil Districts. Based on this supportive geographical location and available tourist attractions, this area has promising tourism potential to be developed, so a tourism development plan is needed. This tourism potential will be developed by forming a development plan for the KPPK (Regency Tourism Development Area) Sapuran-Kepil and its surroundings. In particular, this development plan aims to provide direction and reference for tourism development, as well as its development and management, as well as to support the realization of sustainable tourism in Wonosobo and Indonesia as a whole. The position of the KPPK in government policies regarding tourism is also contained in the Wonosobo Regency Regional Regulation Number 8 of 2017 concerning the Master Plan for Tourism Development of the Wonosobo Regency for 2017-2032.
 

Potential

Nature existing in the Sepuran-Kepil area is the main attraction of tourism offered by this area. Not only in the form of expanses of green forest and plantations, but there are also rivers, cliffs, and waterfalls. The community widely uses this natural condition to become various tourist destinations such as parks, agro-tourism, photo spots, and so on. The tourist activities presented at each location are also quite promising, and some have become part of the events that are routinely carried out. These activities include dirt bikes, off-road jeeps, and other profitable activities such as river tubing, downhill bicycles, outbound, and rock climbing. Elements of locality in the Sepuran-Kepil area include the history of Wonosobo Regency, various handicrafts and unique local product cultures, as well as local culinary. These three things become potentials that contribute to the diversity of tourism offered in the Sepuran-Kepil area in addition to nature tourism.
 

Challenge

When there is potential, there are also challenges that need to be considered in the process of preparing the KPPK development planning process for the Sepuran Kepil area. Still related to tourism potential, the challenges faced are mostly about sustainability and tourism management in the region. Even though it has a plentiful natural and cultural tourism potential, this potential is still considered not strong enough to become a leading tourism attraction for Wonosobo Regency. This is based on three main problems faced, namely around the less-than-optimal aspects of tourism management, the less-than-optimal factors of potential utilization, and the less optimal physical and technological aspects of supporting tourist areas. From the management aspect, there are still tours that have not been managed by official institutions, as well as a lack of integrated management synergy between tourist points. Accessibility to several tourist points is hampered by damaged roads, as well as the lack of adequate supporting facilities.
 

Applied Concept

Active Tourism is a tourism development concept with a focus on visitors doing physical activity. Active tourism combines recreation and education and brings benefits both for tourists and for the area visited. Active tourism has many aspects in common with ecotourism and nature tourism, and it also integrates several actions and adventure tourism activities. The application of this concept adapts to the conditions and potential of the Sepuran-Kepil area suitable for development towards active recreational tourism such as outbound, rock climbing, downhill cycling, and so on. Visioning for tourism in this area is ''The Adventurous Treasure'', which means a 'hidden treasure' for adventure. The purpose of the application of the concept is to focus on the development of tourism-based recreation and education, with the main components of adventure, culture, and nature. By adopting the concept of Active Tourism, visitors can learn directly from local residents regarding the culture, way of life, language, food, beliefs & cultural values ​​that exist in the location. In addition, by applying this concept, it is hoped that it can improve the local economy with minimal environmental impact; on the contrary, it can provide benefits for nature, namely protecting biodiversity.