Journal of Applied Sciences in Travel and Hospitality

Digital Heritage Interpretation for Sustainable Tourism in the Subak Cultural Landscape of Bali

Dinar Sukma Pramesti — 2026-03-30

Tourism experiences in heritage landscapes are frequently dominated by visual appreciation, resulting in limited understanding of the cultural philosophies embedded within traditional management systems. Jatiluwih Village in Bali, internationally recognized for its terraced rice fields and the Subak irrigation system as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site, faces similar challenges, where visitor engagement remains largely superficial. This study aims to develop and evaluate a digital-based heritage interpretation strategy that enhances cultural understanding and supports sustainable tourism. Using a Research and Development approach adapted from the Borg and Gall model, the study comprised preliminary research, prototype development, and limited field trials. Data were collected through surveys of one hundred and fifty tourists, semi-structured interviews, and focus group discussions with pekaseh, tour guides, and village tourism managers. Quantitative data were analyzed descriptively, while qualitative data were examined using thematic analysis. The results indicate that more than seventy per cent of visitors had limited prior knowledge of Subak, despite demonstrating a strong interest in digitally mediated learning. Interactive digital books integrated with Quick Response codes emerged as the most preferred interpretation medium, followed by educational videos, with the majority of respondents willing to access heritage information digitally on-site. Limited trials further demonstrate that the digital interpretation prototype enhanced visitor engagement, strengthened tour guides’ interpretive capacity, and reduced narrative inconsistencies. This study contributes to heritage tourism literature by illustrating how digital interpretation can function as an effective edutourism mechanism, facilitating cultural transmission and reinforcing sustainable heritage management through collaborative stakeholder involvement.

Digital Pathways to MICE Competitiveness in Bali: Social-Media Affordances, Omnichannel Integration, and Destination Image

Pondang Polikarpus Nainggolan — 2026-03-30

This study investigates how Social-Media Affordance Quality (SMAQ) and Omnichannel Integration Quality (OCIQ) shape Bali’s MICE destination image (DI-MICE) and perceived MICE destination competitiveness (PMDC), and whether these effects differ between first-time and repeat international visitors. Data were collected through purposive intercept surveys at MICE-related hotels, venues, and attractions in Bali, targeting international visitors who had interacted with Bali’s official MICE digital channels. A quantitative cross-sectional design was applied to 300 valid responses and analyzed using PLS-SEM (SmartPLS 4). The results show that SMAQ and OCIQ significantly enhance destination image and perceived competitiveness, with destination image acting as a key mediator. Multi-group analysis reveals that first-time visitors rely more strongly on social-media affordances, whereas repeat visitors respond more to seamless omnichannel integration. Once an image is formed, both groups evaluate competitiveness similarly. These findings position digital affordances and omni-channel integration as strategic signals of professional capability, offering practical guidance for MICE destination managers in Bali and comparable emerging destinations.

Beyond Sustainability: Assessing the Regenerative Margins and Community Participation Gaps in Serangan Tourism

Dewa Ayu Diyah Sri Widari — 2026-03-30

This research investigates the strategic evolution of Serangan Tourism Village, Bali, as it transitions from conventional sustainability paradigms toward a proactive regenerative framework. The study primarily aims to assessing regenerative margins and diagnose systemic gaps within local social governance. Employing a qualitative methodology, the investigation utilizes a robust analytical toolkit comprising Value Chain Analysis, Power-Interest Mapping, and Arnstein’s Ladder of Participation. Data derived from participatory observation, semi-structured in-depth interviews, and longitudinal document reviews were integrated through a comprehensive cross-analysis. The findings empirically confirm the attainment of a positive regenerative margin in Serangan, largely catalyzed by the marine conservation community’s restorative efforts. This achievement is underpinned by regenerative parallelism, a mechanism where the restoration of coral reefs and turtle habitats directly augments the destination's economic competitiveness. Despite these gains, a critical participation disparity remains; while conservation actors spearhead the regenerative transition, essential stakeholders most notably Local Culinary Community are relegated to the placation stage with limited decision-making agency. Such governance imbalances threaten the long-term resilience of regene-rative outcomes. This study contributes to the field by operationalizing regenerative parallelism as a functional metric for tourism development. Ultimately, the research concludes that enduring regenerative success necessitates fundamental governance restructuring, moving toward delegated power for local actors and the diversification of restorative funding through impact investment.

Mapping Tourist Attractions and Analyzing Travel Patterns in Jembrana Regency, Bali, Indonesia

Agus Muriawan Putra — 2026-03-30

Bali Province is one of Indonesia’s leading tourism regions; however, empirical studies examining the spatial distribution of tourist attractions and tourist travel patterns at the regency scale remain limited, particularly in peripheral areas such as Jembrana Regency. This study addresses this gap by mapping the spatial distribution of tourist attractions and analyzing tourist travel patterns in Jembrana Regency. A spatial/GIS-based approach was employed by integrating secondary data from official tourism documents with field surveys, followed by geographic plotting and clustering based on administrative boundaries, accessibility, and spatial proximity. Tourist attractions were classified into four clusters: East (Pekutatan District), Central-East (Mendoyo District), Central-West (Jembrana District), and West (Negara and Melaya Districts). Tourist travel patterns were analyzed using observations, interviews, and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), focusing on movement flows, travel routes, and visitation sequences. Destinations with high visitor numbers, strategic locations, and adequate amenities were identified as tourism hubs, including Medewi Beach, Pelataran Rambut Siwi, Perancak Village, Gilimanuk Bay, Blimbingsari Tourism Village, and Candikusuma Beach. The Denpasar–Gilimanuk road emerges as the primary corridor shaping accessibility and inter-cluster tourist mobility. The findings reveal that tourist movements follow structured spatial patterns influenced by accessibility, destination hierarchy, and geographic configuration. These results highlight the importance of integrated spatial planning, infrastructure enhancement, targeted destination promotion, and community capacity development to support balanced and sustainable tourism development in Jembrana Regency.

Qualified Ingredients: Professionalism in Chefs’ Culinary Ingredient Selection

Faisal Akbar Zaenal — 2026-03-30

Professionalism in gastronomy is often judged through visible outputs – brigade leadership, menu design, and guest experience – while chefs’ ingredient work remains largely backstage. Existing research has been less explicit about how chefs qualify ingredients as professional judgment under real-time service constraints. This study defines chefs’ knowledge of qualified ingredients and identifies two complementary evaluative logics: naturalistic quality in cookery and built-in quality in pastry and bakery. Drawing on a qualitative field study involving six purposively selected chefs working in hotel and independent operations, we conducted one-to-one, face-to-face interviews in 2024, transcribed them verbatim, and analysed the data thematically through manual coding. Chefs treated ingredient selection not as a routine purchasing task but as qualification work resolved through kitchen practice. Labels, brands, and price informed initial screening, while performance in use determined acceptance – sensory behaviour in context for cookery, and functional performance and repeatability within pastry-and-bakery production systems such as doughs, batters, creams, and fillings. The analysis also shows how these logics converge in hybrid judgement when service tightens margins, clarifying professionalism as the sustained labour of making ingredient decisions defensible so that technical integrity and intended sensory character can both hold under pressure. The study reframes ingredient selection as situated professional judgement and supports the inclusion of ingredient qualification as an explicit learning outcome in vocational culinary education.

Integrated Marketing Communication, Brand Equity, and Perceived Value in Shaping Tourist Loyalty: Evidence from Nusa Penida Tourism

Iswahyu Pranawukir — 2026-03-30

Nusa Penida in Bali has emerged as a marine tourism destination facing intensifying competition while continuing to attract both domestic and foreign visitors. This competitive environment requires highly integrated marketing communications to reinforce destination brand strength, enhance tourists' perceived value, and stimulate long-term loyalty. This research examines the causal relationships and structural linkages among Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC), Brand Equity, Perceived Value, and Tourist Loyalty using a quantitative framework based on Partial Least Squares–Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The study involved 150 respondents who had previously traveled to Nusa Penida and were selected using purposive sampling criteria. Primary data were collected using a structured survey instrument and analyzed using SmartPLS 4. The empirical findings indicate that IMC positively and significantly influences both Brand Equity and Perceived Value. In addition, Brand Equity and Perceived Value serve as mediating mechanisms that amplify IMC's impact on Tourist Loyalty. The structural model evaluation revealed a high R-square for the loyalty construct, demonstrating the model's strong explanatory power for variation in tourist behavior. Overall, the results highlight the critical role of consistent and integrated marketing communication in shaping destination image, increasing perceived value, and cultivating tourist loyalty. From a practical standpoint, the findings emphasize the importance of collaboration among destination authorities, local governments, and tourism stakeholders in developing a robust digital-based marketing communication ecosystem to ensure Nusa Penida’s sustained competitiveness as a world-class marine tourism destination.

Increasing Employee Loyalty through Career Development and Engagement: The Mediating Role of Job Satisfaction in Five-Star Hotels in Greater Jakarta

Soerjanto — 2026-03-30

Employee loyalty remains a critical challenge in the hospitality industry, where high work pressure and dynamic service demands often lead to high employee turnover. Although career development and employee engagement have been widely recognized as drivers of employee retention, few studies have examined how these factors influence loyalty through job satisfaction in the context of five-star hotels. This study aims to analyze the effects of career development and employee engagement on employee loyalty, with job satisfaction acting as a mediating variable. Using a quantitative approach, data were collected from employees working in five-star hotels in Greater Jakarta between January and March 2025 and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The findings reveal significant positive relationships among variables. Employee engagement exerts a strong influence on job satisfaction (β = 0.468), which, in turn, enhances employee loyalty (β = 0.444). In contrast, career development shows the weakest direct effect on loyalty (β = 0.153), indicating that emotional engagement and daily work experiences play a more prominent role in shaping employee commitment than long-term career advancement opportunities. Furthermore, job satisfaction is confirmed as a mediating mechanism that translates organizational investments in career development and employee engagement into sustained employee loyalty. These findings contribute to hospitality management literature by emphasizing the central role of psychological and emotional engagement in strengthening employee loyalty. From a practical perspective, hotel management should prioritize strategies that foster employee engagement, recognition, and positive workplace experiences to enhance job satisfaction and build long-term employee commitment.

The Role of Tour Guides in Enhancing Revisit Intentions of Couple Tourists to Bali

I Putu Koisuki Suriana — 2026-03-30

This study examines the role of tour guides in enhancing the intention of couples to revisit Bali, using the framework of experiential marketing theory. The research aims to understand how human-touch elements provided by tour guides influence the travel experience and subsequent revisit intentions of couples visiting Bali. A descriptive, qualitative research design was employed, utilising a purposive sampling technique. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews and observations with 16 couples of foreign tourists from diverse countries, including Europe, Asia, Australia, and the United States, aged 24-40 years, who had utilised tour guide services during their visit to Bali. Inductive thematic analysis was conducted using NVivo 12 software to analyse data based on the Experiential Marketing framework, encompassing five dimensions: Sense, Feel, Think, Act, and Relate. The findings reveal that tour guides play multidimensional roles as sensory interpreters, emotional architects, cultural translators, experiential facilitators, and social connectors. Four key functions emerged: facilitators overcoming language and cultural barriers, knowledge transfer agents providing deep destination insights, emotional support providers creating memorable experiences, and social catalysts enhancing security and connectedness. The analysis demonstrates that successful tour guides simultaneously address the sensory, emotional, cognitive, behavioural, and social needs of couple travellers, creating holistic experiences that significantly influence revisit intentions. Human-touch elements remain critical differentiators in tourism experiences, particularly for couples seeking personal and intimate travel encounters that cannot be replicated through digital alternatives. Practically, tourism stakeholders should strengthen tour guide training in emotional intelligence, storytelling, intercultural communication, and personalized service strategies.