Name : Lingga Nur Syamsu

Sidoarjo and Hot Mud Labelling

What do you think if you hear the word called Sidoarjo? If we hear the word called
Sidoarjo, we must be think about one of the natural phenomena that is rarely happened
around the world. Yes, hot mud flood phenomena. Hot mud flood phenomena is very
attached with this city already. Many people think Sidoarjo is only hot mud started when
May 29th 2006, PT Lapindo Brantas inc. made a mistake when try to drill the land around
Porong subdistrict. Not the crude-oil that came out, but the hot mud with the dangerous
gases inside. After that the media is always give the updated news for people about this
phenomena. People only know Sidoarjo is the mud city. However, mud labelling can make
Sidoarjo tourism bigger and famous.
Nowadays, many people still only know that Sidoarjo is the mud city. It is very bad
because this is mean the image of Sidoarjo city when before the hot mud flood phenomena
goes up is very famous with bandeng fish and shrimp, and now that image covered with
hot mud flood phenomena. And they called Sidoarjo is the mud city. What a bad labelling.
That’s why we must change people’s paradigm with many ways.
We cannot blame the people who make a label to this city, or blame this phenomena,
or blame the media because they always reporting Sidoarjo only about hot mud flood
whereas is many of potential tourism around the Sidoarjo itself. After the hot mud flood
phenomena booming, it is become a brand new superstar in the tourism object, even it is
still illegally, even it is dangerous, but million of the people want to see how the hot mud
flood happened. So if we think this is bad, it is wrong. This is the chance to make Sidoarjo
become popular around Indonesia nationally and world for globally.
To make the tourism of Sidoarjo more and more big and famous, we can use many
ways. First, we can make the place of hot mud flood become the real tourism object,
because until now is still operate illegally with the around citizens there. This is very
potential to earn income from tourism. Because this place has been made people become
curious about this phenomena. Like I said before, hot mud flood will be a brand new
superstar in Sidoarjo tourism object.
Secondly, we can give a tour to tourists to hot mud flood tourism object then we can
also introducing another tourism object around Sidoarjo. We know, the tourists may be
only know hot mud flooding tourism object around sidoarjo. So, with the tour, the tourist
will know what Sidoarjo have. Sidoarjo has various tourism object that the tourists may be
still do not know before. And that’s the one of the duty of tourism ambassador to introduce
and promoting the tourism in Sidoarjo.
 Name : Lingga Nur Syamsu

Thirdly, we can campaign to around the media about tourism in Sidoarjo. The
unlimited, and also cheap but effective campaign is in internet. In Internet we can make
blogs, websites, groups, forums, and we can use advertisement on internet to campaign
about tourism in Sidoarjo. The main purpose is to promote more about tourism object in
Sidoarjo.
Fourthly, the government must be consistent about the tourism sector. Although we
promote the tourism object around Sidoarjo very hard but the government don’t have any
consistency about it, it will be nothing. So, the government must give the fresh innovation
from year-to-year to make the tourism sector in Sidoarjo more colorful. For example, the
government make a festival about art and all about tourism information is Sidoarjo. That
will be make Sidoarjo become famous, not only with its hot mud flood, but the another
tourism object too!
Although now Sidoarjo is being labelled a mud city, but that it can make Sidoarjo
tourism bigger and famous. First, make a hot mud flood become a real tourism object.
Second, give a tour to tourists to hot mud flood tourism object then also introducing
another tourism object around Sidoarjo. Third, campaign to around the media about
tourism in Sidoarjo. And fourth, the government must be consistent about the tourism
sector.