Tourism villages are increasingly seen as pathway toward rural sustainability. Despite growing numbers and rising recognition worldwide, however, there is limited to none study that examine this topic, including in Indonesia. As a country with thousands of tourism villages, some of which recognized globally, and with platforms for advancing destinations toward sustainability; there has been no research that fully addresses this topic. This study seeks to fill that gap by mapping out the complex structure of tourism villages as complex adaptive systems working toward sustainable outcomes. Fifteen villages across five regencies and cities in the Special Region of Yogyakarta were purposively selected based on landscape differences and considered as advanced or self-sufficient development stage. The study combined two rounds of Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and the use of Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) with village managers as participants. Using four pillars of sustainable tourism destination from Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), 25 elements were identified and organized into a structural hierarchy. Results highlight land ownership forms as key foundation, which further influence governance, strategic planning, daily operations, and social outcomes. These results emphasize regulations and legal clarity, alignment, and enforcement, in order to protect culture, and balance social, economic, and environmental responsibilities. This study is limited as of variety of participants and sample locations, which may overlook other perspectives and different governance regime. Future studies should incorporate quantifiable sustainability indicators, use multiple or hybrid methods, involve variety of stakeholders, and facilitate villages comparisons across other locations to comprehend sustainable tourism development.
Hutomo et al. (Mon,) studied this question.