Current Science Research Bulletin

In Indonesia, the tourism sector is one of the largest contributors to GDP. This study aims to analyze the impact of tourist arrivals and hotel operations on labor absorption in Indonesia’s tourism sector. A quantitative approach was employed, applying multiple linear regression in natural logarithms with a stepwise method to examine how fluctuations in tourist arrivals and hotel performance affect the number of employed workers. The empirical results indicate that star-rated hotel occupancy has a positive and significant effect on labor absorption, with a high standardized coefficient, suggesting strong explanatory power. This finding confirms that employment in the tourism sector is more influenced by the performance of high-standard accommodations than by aggregate tourist arrivals.

Moreover, the study found that external shocks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and short-term economic pressures in 2023, directly affected hotel occupancy rates and labor absorption. The decline in tourist arrivals during these crises reduced star-rated hotel occupancy, thereby limiting the hospitality sector’s capacity to employ workers. This underscores the high sensitivity of tourism employment to changes in tourist demand, which is mediated through formal accommodation performance. The study highlights the importance of developing quality-oriented star-rated hotels with larger operational scale and service intensity as an effective strategy to promote stable and sustainable employment. Policy implications include encouraging investment in star-rated hotels, improving service standards, and strengthening human resource capacity in the hospitality sector to ensure that tourism growth translates optimally into employment opportunities.

Tourism_Sector, Labor_Absorption, Star_Rated_Hotels, Tourist_ Arrivals, Indonesia

1. A. Ladkin, S. Mooney, D. Solnet, T. Baum, R. Robinson, and H. Yan, “A review of research into tourism work and employment: Launching the annals of tourism research curated collection on tourism work and employment,” Ann. Tour. Res., vol. 100, May 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.annals.2023.103554.
2. A. Syarif, “Analisis Pengaruh Kunjungan Wisatawan terhadap Perekonomian Kalimantan Selatan Melalui Penyerapan Tenaga Kerja,” JIEP: Jurnal Ilmu Ekonomi dan Pembangunan, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 418–430, 2025, doi: https://doi.org/10.20527/jiep.v8i2.2859.
3. S. S. Dwiningwarni, F. Mardiana, and E. T. Wahyuningdyah, “Tourism Village and Impact on Labor Absorption in Jombang Regency,” Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Business and Management of Technology (ICONBMT 2020), vol. 175, no. 6, pp. 208–218, 2021, doi: 10.2991/aebmr.k.210510.035.
4. A. Syahrif, N. Rahmini, and H. Rizali, “Analisis Pengaruh Sektor Pariwisata Terhadap Penyerapan Tenaga Di Kalimantan Selatan Tahun 2011-2021,” EKONOMIKAWAN: Jurnal Ilmu Ekonomi dan Studi Pembangunan, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 166–184, 2024, doi: 10.30596/ekonomikawan.v%vi%i.
5. F. N. Rahma and H. R. Handayani, “Pengaruh Jumlah Kunjungan Wisatawan, Jumlah Obyek Wisata Dan Pendapatan Perkapita Terhadap Penerimaan Sektor Pariwisata Di Kabupaten Kudus,” Diponegoro Journal of Economics, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 1–9, 2013, [Online]. Available: https://media.neliti.com/media/publications/19638-ID-pengaruh-jumlah-kunjungan-wisatawan-jumlah-obyek-wisata-dan-pendapatan-perkapita.pdf
6. S. S. Dwiningwarni, Suyanto, and S. Y. Dwi Andari, “Kunjungan Wisatawan Dan Dampaknya Terhadap Pengangguran Terbuka dan Pengentasan Kemiskinan,” Movere Journal, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 449–472, Jul. 2024, doi: https://doi.org/10.53654/mv.v6i2.506.
7. R. W. Butler, “Sustainable tourism: A state‐of‐the‐art review,” Tourism Geographies, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 7–25, 1999, doi: 10.1080/14616689908721291.
8. K. Lindberg and R. L. Johnson, “The economic values of tourism’s social impacts,” Ann. Tour. Res., vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 90–116, 1997, doi: 10.1016/S0160-7383(96)00033-3.
9. S. H. Zolfani, M. Sedaghat, R. Maknoon, and E. K. Zavadskas, “Sustainable tourism: A comprehensive literature review on frameworks and applications,” Economic Research-Ekonomska Istrazivanja , vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 1–30, 2015, doi: 10.1080/1331677X.2014.995895.
10. L. H. D. Rocca and S. Zielinski, “Community-based tourism, social capital, and governance of post-conflict rural tourism destinations: the case of Minca, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia,” Tour. Manag. Perspect., vol. 43, Jul. 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.tmp.2022.100985.
11. A. Mandic, Ž. Mrnjavac, and L. Kordic, “Tourism infrastructure, recreational facilities and tourism development,” Tourism and Hospitality Management, vol. 24, no. 1, 2018, doi: 10.20867/thm.24.1.12.
12. R. P. Saroji, “Dampak Industri Pariwisata Terhadap Penyerapan Tenaga Kerja Ditinjau Dari Perspektif Ekonomi Islam (Studi pada Hotel, Biro Perjalanan Wisata, Kuliner dan Objek wisata Kabupaten Lombok Barat),” Al-Tijary, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 61–70, Dec. 2018, doi: 10.21093/at.v4i1.1266.
13. P. Wulan Agustina, S. Huda, and P. Perdana, “Analisis Pengaruh Sektor Pariwisata Terhadap Penyerapan Tenaga Kerja,” EKONOMIKAWAN: Jurnal Ilmu Ekonomi dan Studi Pembangunan, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 10–17, Jul. 2024, doi: 10.30596/ekonomikawan.v%vi%i.
14. H. Limanseto, “Menjadi Salah Satu Sektor Strategis Dorong Pertumbuhan Ekonomi, Pariwisata Gencar Dikembangkan Pemerintah,” Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Yogyakarta, p. 1, Feb. 04, 2025. [Online]. Available: www.ekon.go.id
15. S. Syafinah and E. Salmah, “Analysis of the Influence of Tourist Visits and Hotel Occupancy Rate on Labor Absorption in West Nusa Tenggara Province,” West Science Journal Economic and Entrepreneurship, vol. 2, no. 03, pp. 453–463, 2024, doi: https://doi.org/10.58812/wsjee.v2i03.1176.
16. E. Irawan, “ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECT OF HOTEL OCCUPANCY AND TOURIST VISITS ON BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT IN THE TOURISM SECTOR IN WEST NUSA TENGGARA PROVINCE 2012-2021,” Business and Accounting Research (IJEBAR), vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 1434–1441, 2022, doi: https://doi.org/10.29040/ijebar.v6i3.
17. N. Ramadhani, F. Fatimah, and R. Helvira, “Analisis Pengaruh Sektor Pariwisata terhadap Penyerapan Tenaga Kerja di Provinsi Kalimantan Barat Periode 2018–2023,” MASALIQ, vol. 5, no. 6, pp. 2993–3012, Nov. 2025, doi: 10.58578/masaliq.v5i6.7942.
18. H. C. W. Price and T. S. Evans, “Understanding Main Path Analysis,” Cornell University, New York, 2025. [Online]. Available: http://arxiv.org/abs/2512.12355
19. Y. Xiao, L. Y. Y. Lu, J. S. Liu, and Z. Zhou, “Knowledge diffusion path analysis of data quality literature: A main path analysis,” J. Informetr., vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 594–605, 2014, doi: 10.1016/j.joi.2014.05.001.
20. Riswan, U. Dyah Safitri, and M. Nur Aidi, “Multilevel Regression Analysis on Graduate Student Grade Point Average,” Al-Khawarizmi: Jurnal pendidikan Matematika dan Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 81–94, Mar. 2024, doi: 10.24256/jpmipa.v12i1.3969.
21. BPS, Keadaan Ketenagakerjaan Indonesia Agustus 2020, vol. 19, no. 86. 2020.
22. UNWTO, “The Economic Contribution of Tourism and the Impact of COVID-19,” World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), America, Nov. 2021. doi: 10.18111/9789284423200.
23. S. Gössling, D. Scott, and C. M. Hall, “Pandemics, tourism and global change: a rapid assessment of COVID-19,” Journal of Sustainable Tourism, pp. 1–20, 2020, doi: 10.1080/09669582.2020.1758708.
24. L. Han, S. J. Goetz, D. Eades, J. Entsminger, and D. Arbogast, “An early assessment of COVID-19’s impact on tourism in U.S. counties,” Tourism Economics, vol. 29, no. 5, pp. 1355–1375, Aug. 2023, doi: 10.1177/13548166221107814.
25. D. N. Gujarati and D. C. Porter, Basic Econometrics (5th ed.). 2009.
26. J. M. . Wooldridge, Introductory Econometrics : a modern approach, 7th ed. Boston: Cengage, 2021. Accessed: Jan. 25, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://www.academia.edu/49732662/Introductory_Econometrics_7E_2020_
27. J. G. Brida, I. Cortes-Jimenez, and M. Pulina, “Has the tourism-led growth hypothesis been validated? A literature review,” Apr. 15, 2016, Routledge. doi: 10.1080/13683500.2013.868414.
28. OECD, “Implementing the OECD Recommendation on Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development,” France, 2021. Accessed: Dec. 22, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://alnap.hacdn.io/media/documents/pcsd-guidance-note-publication.pdf
29. N. Ahmad, A. N. Menegaki, and S. Al-Muharrami, “Systematic  Literature Reviewe  Of Tourism Growth Nexus: An Overview  Of The Literature  And A Content  Analysis  Of 100 Most Influential  Papers,” J. Econ. Surv., vol. 34, no. 5, pp. 1068–1110, Dec. 2020, doi: 10.1111/joes.12386.
30. A. Rahmawati, M. Afrianti, K. J. Utami, and H. Saksono, “High-Volume, Short-Duration Tourism: Fenomena Baru Industri Perhotelan dalam Mendorong Pertumbuhan Ekonomi Daerah NTB,” Aletheia: Jurnal Sosial & Humaniora, Inovasi, Ekonomi, dan Edukasi, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 39–48, Jun. 2025, doi: 10.63892/aletheia.2.2025.39-48.
31. J. Alegre, L. Pou, and M. Sard, “High unemployment and tourism participation*,” Current Issues in Tourism, vol. 22, no. 10, pp. 1138–1149, 2019, doi: 10.1080/13683500.2018.1464550.
32. H. Rasool, S. Maqbool, and Md. Tarique, “The relationship between tourism and economic growth among BRICS countries: a panel cointegration analysis,” Future Business Journal, vol. 7, no. 1, Dec. 2021, doi: 10.1186/s43093-020-00048-3.
33. P. C. Nguyen, C. Schinckus, F. H. L. Chong, B. Q. Nguyen, and D. L. T. Tran, “Tourism and contribution to employment: global evidence,” Journal of Economics and Development, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 22–37, Mar. 2025, doi: 10.1108/JED-07-2024-0269.