Advances in Tourism Studies

Ritual, Sacredness, and Sustainability

Muhammad Ghalih — 2025-07-26

This study investigates how ritual practices shape the development and governance of eco-cultural tourism in Tenganan Pegringsingan, an Indigenous Bali Aga village in eastern Bali. Grounded in an interpretivist framework and employing thematic analysis, the research draws on in-depth interviews with ritual elders, local artisans, tourism intermediaries, and community members. The findings reveal that rituals in Tenganan function not only as sacred expressions but also as boundary mechanisms, regulating tourist access and reinforcing collective identity. Tourism is not approached as a commercial imperative but as an opportunity for cultural affirmation, framed within customary law and spiritual ethics. The study identifies four key themes: ritual as a gatekeeping device, tourism as a platform for cultural narration, the moral economy of sacred space, and intergenerational shifts in cultural adaptation. Together, these themes illustrate how cultural sustainability in Tenganan is enacted through ritual logic, ethical hospitality, and controlled visibility. The paper contributes to scholarship on Indigenous tourism by highlighting how community agency, moral frameworks, and ancestral knowledge inform locally governed models of sustainable tourism. It offers theoretical and practical insights for decolonizing tourism narratives and reinforcing the role of intangible heritage in guiding tourism development.

Grammatical Error Analysis in English Writing Among Tourism Students

I Gede Widya Suputra — 2025-07-24

This study investigates the types and sources of grammatical errors found in English essays written by students of Sekolah Tinggi Pariwisata (STP) Mataram. Given the contrastive structures between Indonesian (first language) and English (target language), language transfer and interlanguage phenomena are examined as contributing factors. Using a descriptive case study approach, data were collected from 90 student essays, supported by questionnaires and interviews. The analysis identified four primary types of grammatical errors: omission (40 percent), misordering (35 percent), overgeneralization (15 percent), and misinformation (10 percent), with omission emerging as the most frequent. Findings indicate that students often translate directly from Indonesian, leading to syntactic inaccuracies and structural deviations in English. Additionally, several errors reflect interlanguage development, wherein students produce forms that align with neither Indonesian nor standard English. These linguistic patterns highlight the need for targeted pedagogical interventions in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) instruction, especially in tourism and hospitality education, where effective written communication is essential. The study underscores the importance of raising students' metalinguistic awareness and integrating contrastive analysis into curriculum design to mitigate persistent grammatical errors.