Through conversation analysis theory, the author explores the possibility to develop Dieng tourism by investigating the role of conversation in sustaining tourists' revisit intention. To do so, the author conducted participant observation method in two homestays. To make a comprehensive analysis, the author made a detailed field note and followed the approved transcription protocols prior to writing a research report. The findings suggest that the hosts applied the culture they commonly practiced and believed in to people of different cultures. Therefore, it created communication breakdowns identified from the occurrence of unsuccessful turn-takings. Moreover, the study discovers that Zarndt's nationality-based cultural dimensions taxonomy is no longer relevant in tourism context because idiosyncrasy plays a bigger role in guest-host communication. Based on these findings, a newly proposed talk-in-interaction model accommodating a more balanced use of transactional and interpersonal motives is made for the improvement of homestay hosts' multicultural communication.
TopIntroduction
Among many tourism archipelagos, one of the most promising tourism destinations in Indonesia is Dieng, Central Java. According to Ulkhaq et al (2016, 1), Dieng is titled as the example of “excellent rural tourism” in Indonesia. They further mention that “rural tourism encompasses a huge range of activities and interests in farms, nature, adventure, sports, health, education, arts, and heritage taking place in countryside...” Based on their definition, rural tourism requires infrastructure supports that can enhance its quality, and accommodations industry is of prime importance for increasing the quality of tourism.
According to the data taken from Badan Pusat Statistik (Central Bureau of Statistics of Indonesia), Dieng hosts almost 270.000 tourists per year enabling the quantity of homestay to double each year. Amid that large number of tourists, the amount of international visitors in Dieng increases significantly. Thus, homestay operators/hosts must prepare their best to welcome foreign tourists. Some of the most challenging subjects to overcome are language and cultural differences. They play an important part because language and cultural differences can become the barriers that affect the sustainability of tourism. Different characteristics of culture and people trigger different treatments. Therefore, in terms of handling the differences, there must be a multicultural linguistic analysis accommodating the communication pattern between homestay hosts and overseas tourists that shows multicultural communication support. The author is more than convinced that a communication/talk-in-interaction model is needed to bridge the differences and avoid interaction breakdowns due to an oversimplification of communication behavior, generally resulting from inadequate experience in multicultural setting.
Thus, to conclude this section, this study emerges two objectives, they are:
- 1.
To investigate the multicultural communication pattern in the conversation between international tourists and homestay hosts in Dieng, Indonesia;
- 2.
To develop a talk-in-interaction model that sustains multicultural communication.
TopBackground
Every country has its own communication attitude and custom. The author confirms that society is categorized into two; they are closed and sociable societies. This view is made precise in Varnum, Grossmann, Kitayama, and Nisbett’s point of view (2010) pertaining to cultural differences between western and eastern societies. They strongly state that westerners tend to have independent character, while easterners have interdependent personality. These scholars claim that these two have opposite features (2010). Independent character shows “self-direction, autonomy, and self-expression”, meanwhile interdependent character emphasizes on “harmony, relatedness, and connection”. These characters generate different communication patterns. Based on that argument, the author sees multicultural communication as the way different societies deal with communication difference.