The online Summer Program: Sustainable Tourism and Cultural Innovation, organized for students of Naresuan University, Thailand, continued with two in-depth sessions presented by Tourism Marketing Management study program lecturers, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia. These sessions focused on critical issues related to sustainability and ethics in tourism.

The first session, presented by Taufik Abdullah, Ph.D., explored the topic “Exploring the Marginalization of Human and Non-Human Actors in Tourism.” In his presentation, Dr. Taufik highlighted how tourism development and practices often overlook the roles and welfare of various parties, including local communities and non-human elements such as the environment and wildlife. This discussion encouraged students to critically examine conventional tourism models and seek more inclusive and equitable frameworks.

Complementing this ethical perspective, the second session featured Heri P.D. Setiyorini, Ph.D., with the topic “Promoting Responsible Tourism, with a Case Study on Indonesian Coffee Tourism.” Dr. Heri explained the concept and importance of responsible tourism as a practical solution to sustainability challenges.

Through a case study of coffee tourism in Indonesia, Dr. Heri explained how tourism practices can be designed to provide maximum economic benefits for coffee farmers and local communities, while maintaining environmental quality and cultural heritage. Participants gained a clear understanding of how to integrate sustainability principles from upstream to downstream in the tourism value chain.

This activity successfully sparked rich and transformative discussions among students, reinforcing the summer program's goal of fostering innovators in the field of cultural and sustainable tourism.

Author: Adzra Nurthahira A.