Revisiting authenticity and cultural tourism in Indonesia: The case study of Bali island

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Thesis Type: Postgraduate

Institution Of The Thesis: Van Yüzüncü Yil University, Denizcilik Fakültesi, Deniz Ulaştırma İşletme Mühendisliği Bölümü, Turkey

Approval Date: 2022

Thesis Language: Turkish

Student: NOVITA ANGGRAHINI

Principal Supervisor (For Co-Supervisor Theses): Mehmet Şeremet

Co-Supervisor: Emine Cihangir

Open Archive Collection: AVESIS Open Access Collection

Abstract:

In the context of the postmodernity paradigm, the local traditional culture presents the region without losing its identity as well as encouraging individual experience to foster the visitors' manner from the material and non-material objects. The research aim of this thesis is to reconceptualize cultural tourism within the authenticity context, focusing on the case study area of Bali which is a very attractive touristic place for both cultural and natural tourism of the world and has a strong sustainable tourism policy and planning in its history. To answer this thesis's overarching aim, a mix of quantitative and qualitative data were collected. A large part of the data has been gathered from the international tourists visiting the area pre-Covid term (2019 summer). The visitors have been represented by 360 surveys of those volunteer participants whose country origin mainly from developed countries (the EU, the USA, the UK). The findings of this thesis have shown that the cultural assets of the region still have a big opportunity to ensure the tourist visit. The authenticity has been sought by cultural tourists who try to gaze the things on the temples as the beliefbased cultural tourism attractions of villages has been kept safe and pristine. This is particularly supported by the fact of high satisfaction and expectation met of those who are comprehensively experiencing the region. This main reason for the high-satisfying experience of cultural tourism is mainly related to the collective practice of local people towards the strain of the host-guest relationship. This study shows that eclectic experience might be differentiated based on tourist motivation and the extent of the material economy. These results suggest that the material cultural objects meet the expectation, while 'the cultural omnivore' and 'a culturalization of everyday life' are more strong elements towards the satisfaction of the tourists.