Heri P.D. Setiyorini, Ph.D., widely known as Ririen, is a lecturer and researcher at the Tourism Marketing Management Study Program, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia. Her academic interests focus on tourism management and marketing, particularly responsible tourism—a concept centered on sustainability, ethics, and empowering local communities. One of her most significant contributions has been in the field of coffee tourism, where she has positioned coffee not only as a product but as a cultural and experiential gateway to more meaningful travel.
Her doctoral research at James Cook University, Australia, laid the foundation for her focus on responsible tourism. The study explored tourist motivation, experiences, business model innovation, and scenario planning for the development of sustainable tourism, with a specific lens on coffee tourism in Indonesia. Through this work, she emphasized that coffee tourism has the potential to be more than just a trend—it can serve as a sustainable development tool, integrating economic opportunity with cultural integrity.
One of her key publications, "Seeing Coffee Tourism Through the Lens of Coffee Consumption: A Critical Review" (2023), presented in the European Journal of Tourism Research, offers a comprehensive scoping review of 152 studies related to coffee and coffee tourism. By applying Critical Media Discourse Analysis and using Leximancer software, the study identified three main themes: consumer behavior, place consumption, and ethical consumption. This work reflects how tourism scholars and practitioners can better understand and engage with the growing coffee tourism market, especially in light of ethical and experiential trends.
In a 2022 book chapter titled "Learning from the COVID-19 Pandemic: Media Representations of Responsible Coffee Tourism Practices in Indonesia", published in Community Empowerment, Sustainable Cities, and Transformative Economies (Springer), Dr. Setiyorini and her co-authors analyzed 128 online media articles from Indonesia. The research focused on how responsible tourism was communicated during the pandemic. The analysis revealed three phases in the media narrative: operating as usual, raising awareness of risks, and a phase of edification or public education. It highlighted the key role of government institutions in shaping responsible tourism discourses and underscored the power of media in crisis response and public behavior.
Her 2020 publication, "Creating the New Coffee Tourism Market: Disneyization Processes at Work in Indonesia", featured in Tourism’s New Markets: Drivers, Details and Directions (Goodfellow Publishers), examines how commercial strategies—particularly Disneyization—are influencing the shaping of Indonesia’s coffee tourism scene. The study discusses the implications of theming, hybrid consumption, merchandising, and performative labor in tourism experiences. While these elements enhance tourist engagement, she also raises critical reflections on the risks of over-commercialization and the erosion of cultural authenticity.
Beyond her publications, Dr. Setiyorini has contributed to various community-based tourism initiatives and development projects across regions in Indonesia, including Jakarta, West Java, and Sumatra. She also served as a temporary professional staff member in the National Character Development for Education Initiative under the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture between 2016 and 2017.
Through these scholarly works and field engagements, Heri P.D. Setiyorini continues to play an active role in shaping the discourse around sustainable and responsible tourism. Her research offers valuable insights for academics, tourism professionals, and policymakers working to create travel experiences that are not only marketable but also ethical, inclusive, and community-centered.
Author : Muhamad Sabil Fawwazian Taufik