INSTITUTIONAL DYNAMICS IN SUSTAINABLE TOURISM VILLAGE MANAGEMENT: THE ROLE OF YOUTH AGENCY AND "CAPACITY TO ASPIRE" IN ALAMENDAH, INDONESIA

Abstract

Alamendah Village in Rancabali District, Bandung Regency, has emerged as a prominent tourism destination, distinguished by its effective management under the stewardship of the local younger generation. This study analyzes the institutional ecosystem of Alamendah Tourism Village—a recipient of the Indonesian Tourism Village Award (ADWI)—to elucidate how local actors navigate the transition of the tourism village as an alternative economic source for the community. The objective of this research is to formulate a model of "youth agency" as a catalyst for sustainable Halal tourism. Adopting a constructivist paradigm, the research employed a five-stage phenomenological approach, ranging from phenomenon comprehension to theoretical synthesis. Data were accrued via in-depth interviews (n=15) and participatory observation in Rancabali District, Bandung Regency, and analyzed using NVivo 12 to ensure methodological rigor. To substantiate this qualitative narrative with observable physical evidence, the analysis further incorporates a longitudinal GIS-based spatial assessment of tourism-accommodation growth across four benchmark years (2010, 2015, 2020, and 2025). The findings reveal that Alamendah’s success is driven by endogenous youth agency characterized by three institutional dimensions: Entrepreneurial Creativity, where youth diversify products based on ecological assets; Organizational Capacity, functioning as an intermediary for "Integrated Rural Development"; and Social Cohesion, facilitated by higher educational attainment. Theoretically, this study validates Appadurai’s concept of "Capacity to Aspire" as a tangible institutional force, empirically corroborated by a 680 per cent increase in tourism accommodation units between 2010 and 2025 whose spatial diffusion directly traces the corridors curated by youth-led institutional governance.