143 Letter from Bintang Handayani
Dear future female tourism researchers,
Here are some stories that may be relevant to your current situation. If not, just skip to the next letters.
Small “b” and capital “B”: Journey to Branding
A little girl in a green dress was learning the alphabet on a sunny, bright day in Greater Jakarta. She was participating in order to become more cultured, knowing the difference between a capital “B” and a small “b.” Fast forward 20 years, and Small “b” is not necessarily a small being or a small-minded person, and “B” is not necessarily a big person with a broad mindset. Small “b” became cultured while sitting with her guru and discussing authenticity and upcoming brands. The discussion broadens, and they get to talk about the development of visitor attraction on social media, visitor attraction, and nation-brand image.
She thought to herself, “Ah, the field trip,” how excited she was, even though she was nervous about it. “It’s a good thing I met random people on my holiday trip to Borobudur Temple.” One of her first encounters with foreigners was with a German tourist the same year she was born. They posed for photos together. She was now wondering where the pictures were. Tourism research is a study of life itself. She wonders if she chose the wrong major, or if she’s just a typical Virgo with many interests:) She earned her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in communication science before going on to earn her MBA and PhD in tourism and hospitality management. She fell in love as well as fallen into academic life.
Not sure why, maybe it’s just little B a bit confused, trying to find the meaning of life, the purposes, the study of life. Getting to eye-witness bright people with sharp thinking ended up being explorers, travelers, and an unsuccessful businessman, or free-lancers. She is on the verge of becoming one of them. On her way to dinner with her friends, she remarked, “It’s tragic.”
Dark Tourism in the eye of introvert scholar
She ended up writing about it after hearing gloomy news and receiving many condolences. Visits to death sites are much more meaningful, theories of memorable experiences become present, and she analyses it while mourning. Now that she has heard the truth from her guru and from the books of prominent professors, she is convinced. She doesn’t remember how she got in touch with Prof. Max, the mentor and collaborator who teaches her not only to be sharp in writing, but also to work hard and not give up.
She was at the stage of mourning and death sites such as Trunyan cemetery when she co-edited that book, and the role of Bali Aga cultural heritage was the medium for her contemplation. Over the last five years, she has continued to investigate the death sites while also studying other research areas such as media-related tourism, voluntourism, and the role of technology in the branding of visitor attractions. To that end, she wrote Virtual Dark Tourism.
Her simplest mind intrigued by death