Sustainable tourism: analysis of methods and applications in the Indonesian tourism journals

This study is based on an observational analysis of sustainable tourism research articles published in Indonesian tourism journals, using content analysis as the method of inquiry. The objective of this study is to gain a comprehensive understanding of the manifestation of sustainable tourism research articles in Indonesia, with a particular focus on research methods and their applications. The results reveal that tourism journals constitute a minor fraction (0.43%) of the publications analyzed, with 26 journals and 304 articles identified. Furthermore, the majority of sustainable tourism researchers tend to utilize existing research methods with limited development or innovation. Qualitative research methods are more prevalent than quantitative and mixed methods, with descriptive qualitative research being the most significant. While the application of the study is relatively balanced across the dimensions of sustainable tourism and geographic areas, it is relatively underrepresented in the areas of stakeholders and management functions. The authors conclude that there is a growing trend of sustainable tourism research in Indonesian tourism journals, with researchers scattered across various regions of Indonesia. However, these journals have yet to attract significant attention from the international research community. Furthermore, there has been no previous assessment of these journals' methods and applications for sustainable tourism research. This paper thus provides a valuable reference for sustainable tourism researchers in the future.