South Asian Journal of Social Studies and Economics

Background: Sustainable Tourism in Indonesia has shifted from mass tourism toward community-based and sustainability-oriented approaches to address post-pandemic economic recovery, environmental preservation, cultural protection, and local community empowerment through tourism villages and pentahelix collaboration.

Aims: This study examines the evolution of sustainable tourism development in Indonesia from 2005 to 2025, focusing on major trends, policy challenges, and future opportunities. Despite the increasing number of studies on sustainable tourism, limited research has comprehensively explored the long-term transformation of sustainable tourism policies and community-based tourism practices in Indonesia. The study particularly investigates the role of community-based tourism (CBT), tourism villages, and multi-stakeholder collaboration in supporting sustainable tourism development.

Study Design: This research adopts a descriptive qualitative design using a literature review approach.

Place and Duration of Study: The study focuses on tourism development in Indonesia over twenty years (2005–2025).

Methodology: This study employed a qualitative literature review approach to examine the evolution of sustainable tourism development in Indonesia between 2005 and 2025. The review process was guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework to ensure transparency and systematic selection of relevant literature.

Results: The findings indicate that sustainable tourism development in Indonesia has largely adopted the Community-Based Tourism (CBT) model, supported by three main approaches: local wisdom-based tourism development, tourism village initiatives, and social entrepreneurship. However, several challenges persist, including uneven tourism infrastructure, limited community capacity, environmental pressures, and weak coordination between central and regional policies. The COVID-19 pandemic further exposed the vulnerability of mass tourism models while simultaneously accelerating the transition toward quality-oriented tourism. Emerging opportunities include increasing public awareness of conservation-based tourism, growing participation in tourism village development, digital transformation driven by younger generations, and stronger multi-stakeholder collaboration under the pentahelix framework.

Conclusion: Overall, sustainable tourism in Indonesia has progressed in a positive direction, shifting from a quantity-oriented tourism model toward a more quality-driven and community-centered approach. Nevertheless, strengthening institutional coordination, improving destination governance, enhancing community capacity, and reinforcing sustainability certification remain crucial to ensuring the long-term resilience and sustainability of Indonesia’s tourism sector.