Documenting Kecap Majalengka through visual storytelling and audience perceptions in gastronomic tourism

Abstract

Background: Gastronomic tourism increasingly relies on storytelling to communicate the cultural meanings of local food products. Majalengka sweet soy sauce represents a long-standing culinary tradition in West Java, yet its wider tourism promotion remains limited. Purpose: This study examines how storytelling is constructed in the research-produced documentary Kecap Majalengka and how audiences perceive its storytelling quality and promotional effectiveness. Methods: An exploratory sequential mixed-methods design incorporating practice-based documentary production was employed. Interviews and field observations with six purposively selected stakeholders informed the documentary’s storyline and production. The completed documentary was analyzed using Hall’s storytelling framework of character, conflict, resolution, and lesson. Audience evaluation was then conducted with 60 university students aged 18-25 years using a researcher-developed five-point Likert questionnaire. Results: Qualitative analysis identified an interconnected narrative of character, conflict, resolution, and lesson. Audience evaluation showed that lesson received the highest storytelling score (M = 4.08), followed by character (M = 4.03), resolution (M = 4.00), and conflict (M = 3.78). The documentary was perceived as an effective promotional medium (M = 4.13), while interest in trying the product was positive (M = 3.87) and interest in visiting Majalengka was more moderate (M = 3.40). Conclusion: The findings indicate that the documentary communicated cultural meaning and local identity more strongly than narrative conflict or destination-level travel interest. Implications: Gastronomic tourism documentaries should connect culinary products more explicitly with destination experiences while strengthening narrative conflict and human-centered storytelling.