Background

This research was initiated based on the fact that tourism and hospitality is one of Indonesia’s most vital economic sectors, generating $14 billion in foreign exchange and supporting millions of jobs, with projections of continued growth. However, the industry’s expansion highlights a pressing need for a workforce proficient in English, particularly in context-specific communication skills essential for interacting with international guests. While global tests like TOEFL and IELTS are often used, they fall short in assessing the real-world, culturally nuanced language skills needed in tourism and hospitality. Indonesia’s general English proficiency remains low, and existing tests are often misaligned with the demands of the sector, creating barriers for otherwise capable professionals. Unlike other fields such as aviation or medicine, tourism lacks a tailored English proficiency test that considers both language and cultural competence. Thus, there is a need to develop a specialized, theoretically grounded English test to ensure fair, valid, and job-relevant language assessment for Indonesian tourism