Globalization and the historical transformation of tourism education in Indonesia (1960–2025)

Abstract

Tourism education in Indonesia has undergone substantial transformation alongside the expansion of the tourism industry and increasing globalization, yet its long-term development remains underexplored from a historical perspective. This study examines the transformation of tourism education in Indonesia from 1960 to 2025, focusing on changes in educational orientation, institutional structures, curricula, and competency standards in relation to state policies and global tourism development. Employing the historical method, the study draws on primary sources including educational archives, tourism policy documents, curricula of tourism schools, institutional reports, government regulations, tourism legislation, and professional certification policies, complemented by relevant secondary literature on the history of education, vocational education, and globalization. The findings identify three major phases of transformation. From 1960 to 1980, tourism education primarily functioned as vocational training to meet the growing demand for workers in domestic hospitality and tourism services. Between 1981 and 1998, it underwent institutional expansion and became increasingly integrated into national development strategies and the growth of Indonesia’s tourism industry. From 1999 to 2025, globalization accelerated its transition toward competency-based professional education characterized by international certification, foreign-language proficiency, digital competencies, and global tourism management.  The findings further demonstrate that this transformation was neither linear nor solely driven by globalization; rather, it resulted from continuous negotiation among state policies, tourism industry demands, international standards, and local socio-cultural contexts. This study contributes to the history of education by providing a longitudinal explanation of how globalization has been translated into institutional restructuring, curriculum reform, and competency standardization within Indonesian tourism education. It argues that tourism education constitutes a strategic arena in which global professional standards are selectively adapted to national development priorities and local educational contexts.