The Influence of Leadership and Organizational Culture on Tourism Human Resource Management in the Buffer Zone of Yogyakarta International Airport

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Yogyakarta— Leadership and Organizational Culture Determine Tourism Human Resource Management around YIA Airport. Research conducted by Ambar Purwoko, Nani Harnaeni, and Muhamad Solikhin from Cipta Wacana Christian University, published in January 2026 in the International Journal of Business and Applied Economics (IJBAE).

The research shows that adaptive leadership and collaborative organizational culture significantly strengthen coordination, capacity building, and service quality in airport-based tourism areas—an issue that has become increasingly important as YIA reshapes the regional tourism landscape of Kulon Progo and its surroundings.

The findings matter because YIA is not just an air transportation hub. Since its operation, the airport has become a new economic engine for southern Yogyakarta, creating opportunities for tourism destinations, accommodation, creative industries, and community-based tourism initiatives. However, the success of this transformation depends heavily on how well tourism human resources are managed across government institutions, private businesses, and local communities.

Tourism Growth Meets Human Resource Challenges

Airport-oriented tourism is often seen as a fast track to regional development. Areas surrounding international airports typically experience rising tourist flows, increased investment, and higher expectations for service quality. In the case of YIA, the buffer zone holds strategic potential to become an integrated tourism area linked to transportation, hospitality, and local cultural attractions.

In practice, this potential has not been fully optimized. Tourism development around YIA faces persistent managerial challenges. Coordination among stakeholders is often fragmented, leadership capacity varies across institutions, and organizational cultures differ between government agencies, tourism businesses, and community groups. These conditions affect how tourism workers are trained, managed, and motivated.

The study addresses this gap by focusing on two institutional factors that are frequently discussed but rarely examined together in airport-based tourism contexts: leadership and organizational culture.

How the Study Was Carried Out

The research used a qualitative case study approach centered on the YIA buffer zone in Kulon Progo Regency. Data were collected between 2022 and 2024 through in-depth interviews, document analysis, and field observations.

Key informants included:

Local government officials involved in tourism planning
Managers of tourism destinations and hospitality businesses
Community-based tourism actors and local tourism awareness groups

This approach allowed the researchers to capture real-world experiences of how leadership practices and organizational values influence tourism human resource management. The data were analyzed interactively by identifying patterns and relationships between leadership, organizational culture, and workforce management outcomes.

Leadership Drives Coordination and Capacity Building

One of the central findings is that leadership has a strong positive influence on tourism human resource management in the YIA buffer zone. Effective leaders help align policies, coordinate diverse actors, and ensure that workforce development programs support broader regional tourism goals.

In airport-based tourism areas, leadership is particularly critical because governance involves multiple institutions with different mandates. The study shows that adaptive and inclusive leadership makes it easier to manage these complexities, reduce institutional fragmentation, and improve the consistency of tourism services.

Where leadership capacity is weak, tourism human resource management tends to be fragmented. Training programs may lack continuity, service standards vary between destinations, and collaboration between stakeholders becomes difficult.

Organizational Culture Shapes Professionalism and Service Quality

Beyond leadership, the study highlights the importance of organizational culture—the shared values, norms, and work practices that guide how tourism actors operate. The findings confirm that organizational culture also has a significant positive effect on tourism human resource management.

A supportive organizational culture encourages professionalism, collaboration, and continuous learning. In the YIA context, this is especially important because tourism actors come from diverse organizational backgrounds, ranging from formal government offices to informal community-based groups.

The research shows that when organizational culture emphasizes shared service standards and mutual cooperation, tourism workers are more committed to capacity building and service quality. Conversely, fragmented organizational cultures can weaken coordination and reduce the effectiveness of leadership initiatives.

Leadership and Culture Work Together

A key insight from the study is that leadership and organizational culture are interdependent. Leadership provides strategic direction and mobilizes resources, while organizational culture sustains everyday work behavior and long-term commitment.

Strong leadership without a supportive culture may only produce short-term improvements. Likewise, a positive culture without effective leadership may lack the strategic focus needed to respond to rapid changes in tourism demand around an international airport. Sustainable tourism human resource management emerges when both factors reinforce each other.

As noted by the authors from Universitas Kristen Cipta Wacana, leadership sets the direction, but organizational culture determines whether that direction is translated into consistent practice across institutions and communities.

Implications for Regional Tourism Policy

The study carries important implications for policymakers and tourism practitioners. Tourism human resource management in airport buffer zones should be treated as an institutional and governance issue, not merely a technical HR function.

For local governments, the findings point to the need for leadership development programs that focus on adaptive leadership, cross-sector coordination, and strategic planning. For tourism organizations, building a shared organizational culture across stakeholders can help harmonize service standards and improve workforce readiness.

The research also suggests that integrating tourism human resource strategies with long-term regional development plans is essential. Infrastructure investment alone will not deliver sustainable tourism growth without strong leadership and cohesive organizational culture.

Author Profiles

· Ambar Purwoko -Universitas Kristen Cipta Wacana
· Nani Harnaeni -Universitas Kristen Cipta Wacana
· Muhamad Solikhin - Universitas Kristen Cipta Wacana

Source

Ambar,Nani, Muhamad Solikhin. The Influence of Leadership and Organizational Culture on Tourism Human Resource Management in the Buffer Zone of Yogyakarta International Airport
International Journal of Business and Applied Economics (IJBAE) Vol. 5 , No.1 January 2026: 293-304
DOI : https://doi.org/10.55927/ijbae.v5i1.567

official URL: https://nblformosapublisher.org/index.php/ijbae