Part 1

• Dancing Like Ancestors: Explore Bajo’s Ethnic Identity and Ritual Beliefs within Tourism Project in Indonesia Kumiko Kato Sophia University

  Indonesian tourism has a historical context rooted in Dutch colonialism, and international tourism was pursued, bringing an image of the island’s cultural and spiritual paradises to Europe. However, these tourism images were initially limited to Bali and did not expand until the national development of the Suharto era began to change. Their national development project focuses on the local area, but it often offends regional and cultural values. Following the Financial Crisis and political confusion, the Indonesian tourism industry has recovered. With 13 million international visitors (BPS statistic Indonesia, 2025b), compared to a total of 178.85 million domestic visitors in 2024 (BPS statistic Indonesia, 2025a), this is a noteworthy figure. Local tourism is becoming increasingly popular among domestic visitors, and local communities describe themselves as unique from a domestic perspective and promote themselves as a diverse part of the Indonesian nation. This study will focus on the Bajo community in Sulawesi, which is a minority group of maritime migrants. People explore their beliefs (Adat), which are actually in opposition to Islamic beliefs because this healing ritual includes process possession. Still, they performed their dancing on the stage of the Regional Festival, guiding tourists through their village as a unique ethnic group; the Indonesian government and an international organization fund all these projects. In this case, expected to reveal their representation and creation as an ethnic group of Indonesia and to emerge as an ethnic identity as a unique minority of this region within the transition of discourse about local ethnic community and diversity by the Indonesian government.

• The evolution of Vietnam’s tourism policy: the cases of Sapa and Ta Xua Giada Donzel University of Cagliari

  Vietnam’s tourism sector is developing very fast: the figures from the Viet Nam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT) show that in the first half of 2025, more than 10.5 million international tourists arrived in the country and that number of domestic tourists reached 77.5 million. These data prove the importance of the tourism industry for the Vietnamese economy. However, tourism has also a considerable impact on the environment and, above all, on society. Over the years, the life of the inhabitants of the northwestern borderlands of Vietnam has changed a lot, and tourism, one of the most effective tools of modernization, has played a key role in this process. Good planning and management skills are necessary to avoid environmental damage and social issues. Since national and local government policies are fundamental for defining and regulating tourism development, observing how the approach to this issue has changed over time allows us to identify the new priorities. In order to clarify the effects of this process, this research will present a comparison between two case studies, two tourism areas located in northwestern Vietnam. The first, Sapa, is a well-established tourist destination, while the second, Ta Xua, is much less known and is still expanding. Observations of professionals in the tourism sector have been collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed to verify if they actually reflect the trend dictated by the new tourism policies.

• Narrating the Vietnamese Highlands: Hmong novel “Vợ chồng A Phủ” and the Making of Tà Xùa’s Tourism Image Lê Đức Anh Vietnam National University

  Tà Xùa, located on the cloud-covered plateau of Bắc Yên District in Sơn La Province, is renowned not only for its majestic natural landscapes but also for its rich cultural heritage of the Hmong ethnic group. The area is closely associated with the literary symbol of “A Phủ and His Wife” in modern Vietnamese literature. This study examines the formation, dissemination, and utilization of the image of “the homeland of A Phủ and His Wife” as a cultural–tourism symbol contributing to Tà Xùa’s local branding. Using an interdisciplinary approach—combining ethnology, cultural studies, and tourism studies—the research explores the relationship between Hmong cultural preservation and community-based tourism development in Tà Xùa. Findings reveal that the image of “A Phủ and His Wife” has become a symbolic resource that strengthens local cultural identity, attracts visitors, and drives socio-economic development. However, the exploitation of this symbol must be accompanied by heritage management, respect for local values, and a commitment to sustainability. The paper concludes with several recommendations to promote Tà Xùa as a distinctive Hmong cultural destination in Vietnam’s Northwest region.

• Transnational Learning through Queer Mobility: Thai LGBTQ Travelers’ Perspectives on Taiwan and the Future of Inclusive Tourism in Thailand Jidapa Buayairugsa National Chengchi University

  Tourism in Southeast Asia has shifted from colonial and nationalist frameworks toward participation by minorities who increasingly shape their own representations. Within this transformation, queer tourism becomes a crucial space for exploring how sexual minorities engage in cross-cultural exchange and identity-making.
  This study aims to investigate how Thai LGBTQ travelers perceive and experience queer tourism in Taiwan, and how these transnational encounters contribute to reimagining inclusive and community-based queer tourism in Thailand. The research adopts qualitative multi-sited methods, including participant observation at Taipei Pride, in-depth interviews with Thai LGBTQ tourists, and digital ethnography of Thai-language social media. Through discourse and visual analysis, it examines how travelers interpret Taiwan’s inclusive tourism practices and translate these experiences into their own cultural and national contexts.
  The study contributes conceptually and practically to the theme of “tourism by and among minorities.” It highlights how transnational mobility enables learning, reflection, and mutual exchange among Asian LGBTQ communities. The expected outcomes include deeper theoretical insights into minority participation and practical guidance for developing Thailand’s post–marriage equality queer tourism, grounded in diversity, community engagement, and regional solidarity.

Part 2

• Sustainable Tourism Investment Security Model Based on Comparative Analysis in Small Islands of Indonesia, Malaysia, And Thailand Ardyanto Tanjung Ardyanto State University of Malang Ginta Ginting Ginta Universiti Terbuka Munif Arif Ranti Munif Hasanuddin University Seniwati Seniwati Hasanuddin University

  The trade war between the United States and China has created a geopolitical condition that affects investment opportunities in the tourism sector, especially for countries in the Southeast Asian region. Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand have an excellent opportunity to take advantage of these opportunities to develop sustainable tourism and strengthen the position of tourism MSMEs in the economy. The objectives of this study include two essential points. First, this study aims to identify the geopolitical impact of the US-China trade war on the security practices of sustainable tourism investment in small islands, primarily through the role of tourism MSMEs in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Second, this study aims to analyze a relevant strategy model for developing investment in the maritime and coastal tourism sector in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand by utilizing investment and security dynamics directly connected to global geopolitical conditions. The research gap in this study is the lack of literature discussing the geopolitical approach in identifying tourism investment security between Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia, which allows for strengthening the benefits of the tourism sector for the economy of each country. The novelty in this study shows that the US-China trade war dramatically influences the current global geopolitical conditions. Still, the three countries remain at minimal investment risk to attract foreign investors, especially in the tourism sector, which is increasingly becoming a development priority in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand.

• Tourism, Representation, and the Making of Local Identities in Wakatobi, Indonesia Ashry Sallatu University of Amsterdam

  This research investigates the interplay between tourism development and local identity formation in Wakatobi, Indonesia, specifically through the lens of the scuba diving tourism sector. Utilizing ethnographic methodologies, the study focuses on the lived experiences of various stakeholders, including divers, boat crews, and other key participants within the community. It critically analyzes how these coastal communities engage as active contributors to the tourism industry. This industry not only transforms their economic realities but also compels a re-evaluation of self-perception and external perceptions. In Wakatobi, tourism transcends mere diving facilitation at premium sites; it catalyzes the emergence of new roles, self-representations, and relational dynamics among local inhabitants, the marine environment, and international tourists. For instance, a dive guide tasked with delivering a pre- dive briefing to foreign visitors begins to see themselves as on par with dive professionals in more established tourist destinations, such as Bali. Local participants are positioned within a framework of expectations that require them to serve as hosts and service providers, while intermittently functioning as informal conservation advocates. This dynamic engenders a complex and at times inequitable representation of Wakatobi within the global tourism market, predominantly driven by external market forces. By conceptualizing identity as a product of labor, social interaction, and negotiation, this research posits that engagement in tourism encompasses more than economic integration; it signifies the process of becoming a dynamic and distinctive subject within a rapidly evolving context.

• Performing for Tourism: Shifting Practices and Identity Construction in Bali Giulia Sala University of Bologna

  This paper aims to analyse Barong performances in Bali in relation to the growth and expansion of the tourism industry on the island and in Southeast Asia, a phenomenon that has deeply influenced performative practices and has also affected processes of identity construction, redefining modes of cultural representation.
  Within the broader Indonesian context, Bali represents a Hindu-majority enclave, where ritual performances become key sites for articulating a minority cultural and religious identity within a predominantly Muslim nation. Through ethnographic research conducted in several areas of Bali characterized by a strong tourist presence, it is possible to reconstruct the dynamics that have led this ritual practice, linked to apotropaic and cosmological functions, to become predominant in tourist contexts, with economic consequences and social transformations. The analysis is based on interviews with performers and members of the involved communities, through which it investigates the transformations in the ways local practices are received and experienced, both by international audiences and by the communities themselves.
  Through the staging of Barong, the community presents itself to the gaze of the tourist and constructs forms of self-representation that affect its positioning within a globalized context. The performance takes shape as a space of mediation in which economic, cultural, and religious dimensions intersect and take form in situated configurations. The paper highlights the active role of local communities in shaping these practices, showing how tourism contributes to the redefinition of forms of belonging and modes of cultural representation in the contemporary context.

Abstract

Keywords

• Adat
• Bajo Community
• Cultural Representation
• Ethnic Identity
• Geopolitical
• Identities
• Inclusive tourism
• Indonesia
• Indonesian Tourism
• Investment Security
• Maritime
• Philippines
• Queer tourism
• Representation
• Southeast Asia
• Thailand–Taiwan
• Tourism
• Transnational mobility
• Wakatobi
• development
• ethnicities
• indigeneity
• minorities
• multispecies ethnography
• non-humans
• performance
• ritual