“Karanganyar’s Tourist Attractions Photo Contest”: An Effort to Introduce Tourist Destinations in Karanganyar

Dyah Ayu Kusumaningrum. 2015. Karanganyar’s Tourist Attractions Photo Contest: An Effort to Introduce Tourist Destinations in Karanganyar, English Diploma Program, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Sebelas Maret University. This final project report was written based on the job training in Public Relations and Tourism Marketing Division in Karanganyar Tourism and Culture Department. The writer had a job training to get the complete information and data regarding to photo contest event named “Karanganyar’s Tourist Attractions Photo Contest”. The objectives are to describe the meaning of “Karanganyar’s Tourist Attractions Photo Contest”, to describe the process of photo contest, to find out the perceptions of participants about “Karanganyar’s Tourist Attractions Photo Contest”, and to identify whether the photo contest is effective to increase the interest of tourists or vice versa. Karanganyar’s Tourist Attraction Photo Contest is an event to collect the works of photographers by taking photo of tourist destinations in Karanganyar as its object. The purpose of this event is to search and get the best photo documentation of Karanganyar’s tourist destinations from public, then it will be used as promotional material. The process of this event were started from promoting the event, registration, judging stage, and award giving to the top 3 winners. There are some flaws in the process of the event based on the writer’s interview to 10 informants. They are lack of publication, less effectiveness of photo submission method, inappropriate exhibition venue, incriminating rule related to copyright, less number of money prize, and lack variety of photo contest category. To solve those problems, the writer offered some solutions. The Public Relations and Tourism Marketing Division should expand the publication area, make a good promotional plan, conduct a research about public’s perception towards Karanganyar’s tourist destinations, and make more innovative and creative events. Keywords: public relations, Karanganyar, tourist destinations, promotion, perception, photo contes