Digital Mediatization of Pacu Jalur in Sustainable Tourism

Abstract

Pacu Jalur is a traditional boat race of the Malay community originating from Kuantan Singingi Regency, Riau Province, and carries strong cultural, historical, and local identity values. In recent years, Pacu Jalur has become increasingly well known through social media and has become part of digital cultural tourism narratives, indicating changes in the way local culture is communicated, perceived, and interpreted in digital spaces. This paper aims to discuss how Pacu Jalur is represented in digital media and its implications for sustainable tourism communication. This study employs a narrative literature review approach by examining various scholarly publications relevant to issues of cultural mediatization, cultural representation, digital media, and tourism communication. This study uses mediatization of culture theory and cultural representation theory to understand how digital media logic, such as visuality, performativity, and popularity orientation, influences the way local culture is presented in tourism contexts. The discussion is directed at the relationship between increased cultural visibility through social media and the potential shift in cultural meanings within digital tourism narratives. This paper is expected to provide a conceptual understanding of the role of digital media in shaping the representation of local culture and to serve as a reflective basis for developing tourism communication strategies that are oriented not only toward promotion and popularity, but also toward the sustainability of cultural values and the preservation of local identity.