17 October 2025
Threesna Sharfina
Medan, October 17, 2025 — The Tourism Student Association (IMAPA) of the Vocational Program at Universitas Sumatera Utara (USU) successfully held the English Tourism Upgrade Seminar with the theme “Tourism English Upgrade: From Communication Skills to Advanced Fluency for Guiding.” The event took place on Friday, October 17, 2025, at the Vokasi Building B Auditorium and was met with great enthusiasm.
Aimed at enhancing English proficiency in the tourism sector—particularly in guiding skills—the seminar was opened by Masters of Ceremony Ridho Alfansyah and Desi Natalia, and moderated by Vanessa Kayla.
In his remarks, IMAPA Chairman, Ricky Pangaribuan expressed his hope that this seminar would serve as an important momentum for participants to gain knowledge and insights that would be highly beneficial for their future careers.
Similarly, the Seminar Chair, Muhammad Muzaki Pasaribu, conveyed his expectations for the event to run smoothly, orderly, and provide maximum impact in improving participants’ competencies.
Meanwhile, Head of Study Program, Koko Sujatmoko, SE., M.Si., also delivered full support and great expectations that this seminar would not only shape students to be strong in theory, but also highly capable in practical English guiding skills, enabling them to compete at both national and global levels.
The core session of the seminar featured three expert speakers who discussed English proficiency in guiding across three key aspects: Building Foundational Conversation Skills, Engaging with Tourists, and Achieving Fluency and Mastery. The speakers—Riko Andika Rahmat, S.S., M.Hum., Nurul A. Batubara, and Jack Nathan Limbeng—shared valuable knowledge and insights on improving fluency and communication in tourism English.
In his presentation, the first speaker, Riko Andika Rahmat Pohan, S.S., M.Hum., elaborated on Building Foundational Conversation Skills, covering mastery of practical tourism vocabulary, customer service language, clear pronunciation, active listening, and role-play exercises.
The second speaker, Nurul A. Batubara, emphasized the importance of Professional Tour Guiding Language, stressing mastery of tourism-related phrases such as basic instructions for tourists, travel vocabulary, adherence to Tourism Industry Standards, and the significance of communication and active listening skills.
Completing the discussion, Jack Nathan Limbeng highlighted advanced stages—Engaging with Tourists and Achieving Fluency and Mastery—explaining techniques for simplifying complex topics and using storytelling to deliver engaging cultural and historical narratives, as well as the importance of advanced fluency through nuanced language use and adaptability in responding to deeper and more complex questions.
In addition to gaining knowledge and networking opportunities, participants also received a physical certificate, materials, and refreshments. The event concluded with the presentation of plaques to the Head of Study Program and the Committee Chair, a group photo session, and a closing prayer.
The English Tourism Upgrade Seminar stands as a testament to IMAPA Vokasi USU’s commitment to preparing competent and highly competitive graduates for the tourism industry.
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