Vol. 24, No. 3, November 2022: 362- 370 Sosiohumaniora - Jurnal Ilmu-ilmu Sosial dan Humaniora ISSN 1411 - 0911 : eISSN: 2443-2660 DOI: 10.24198/sosiohumaniora.v24i3.33432 Submited: 22 May 2021, Accepted: 21 July 2022, Publish: 04 November 2022 CULTURAL-BASED TOURISM IN CIREBON: A STUDY OF COMMODIFICATION IN CULTURAL TOURISM Nyai Kartika 1 , Reiza D. Dienaputra, Susi Machdalena and Awaludin Nugraha Department History and Philology, Faculty of Cultural Studies, Padjadjaran University Jl. Raya Bandung-Sumedang KM. 21 Jatinangor, 456363 E-mail: n.kartika@unpad.ac.id; reiza.dienaputra@unpad.ac.id; machdalena@unpad.ac.id; awaludin.nugraha@unpad.ac.id ABSTRACT. The people of Cirebon have various religious, ethnic and cultural backgrounds. However, they can live harmoniously in such diversity. Cirebon is interesting to explore due to its abundant culture-based tourism. However, in the tourism industry, the process of commodi fcation is inevitable as part of current development. Therefore, this study employed a qualitative method using historical, social, and cultural commodifcation approaches expected to provide a better overview and information regarding culture-based tourism in Cirebon. The commodi fcation of culture allows cultural forms to be a tradable commodity. It changes culture as originally a social relationship into culture as an economic relationship. Thus, it is important to apply historical and social approaches in the study to determine the existence of cultural heritage. This encourages the researchers to further discover the extent to which commodi fcation is implemented in the culture-based tourism industry in Cirebon, aiming to provide information to the public to give more attention as well as participate in preserving cultural heritage in the midst of the challenges of modern times. The results of this study show an overview of cultural tourism in Cirebon, in which various elements of society are expected to help preserve and maintain culture as self-identity. Keywords: Cultural Tourism; Commodifcation; Cirebon PARIWISATA BERBASIS BUDAYA DI CIREBON: KAJIAN KOMODIFIKASI DALAM PARIWISATA BUDAYA ABSTRAK. Masyarakat Cirebon memiliki latar belakang agama, etnis, dan budaya yang beragam. Akan tetapi, mereka dapat hidup rukun dalam keberagaman itu. Eksistensi Cirebon menjadi menarik untuk dijejaki karena kaya akan pariwisata yang berbasis budaya. Namun, dalam industri pariwisata, proses komodifkasi tidak dapat dihindarkan sebagai bagian dari perkembangan zaman. Oleh karena itu, metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah metode kualitatif dengan menggunakan pendekatan historis, sosial dan komodifkasi budaya yang diharapkan dapat lebih memberikan gambaran dan informasi terkait pariwisata yang berbasis budaya di Cirebon. Komodi fkasi budaya menjadikan wujud-wujud budaya sebagai sebuah komoditi yang dapat diperjualbelikan. Hal tersebut merubah budaya yang mulanya merupakan relasi sosial menjadi relasi ekonomi. Oleh karena itu penting dilakukan pendekatan historis dan pendekatan sosial dalam kajian untuk mengetahui eksistensi sebuah warisan budaya. Hal tersebut mendorong peneliti untuk mengetahui lebih dalam lagi sejauh mana komodifkasi dilakukan dalam industri pariwisata yang berbasis budaya di Cirebon, dengan tujuan untuk dapat memberikan informasi kepada masyarakat agar dapat lebih memberikan perhatian dan turut serta dalam menjaga warisan budaya di tengah tantangan zaman. Hasil dari kajian ini memberikan gambaran tentang Pariwisata Budaya di Cirebon yang mana diharapkan berbagai elemen masyarakat dapat membantu melestarikan kebudayaan sebagai identitas diri dan mempertahankan eksistensinya. Kata kunci: Pariwisata Budaya; komodifkasi; Cirebon INTRODUCTION Considering the vastness of West Java, it is reasonable for this study to focus on only one city with quite a variety of external cultural infuences, namely Cirebon. This city was selected because, as a port city, a trading center, and a center for the spread of Islam in West Java, Cirebon has a relatively long period of contact with foreign cultures. The topography of Cirebon includes coastal areas, lowlands, and highlands or mountains. The climate is generally tropical with a temperature of up to 32.5˚C from June to October. It is located between 108˚E and 9˚S at 0-130 meters above sea level. The average rainfall is 1,963 mm/year and the humidity reaches its peak in May, reaching 945. The highest rainfall occurs in the central and southern areas, namely the hilly areas at the foot of Mount Cereme (Dahuri, et al., 2004). The coastal areas of Cirebon are located in the northern and eastern parts of Cirebon. Due to the natural conditions of coastal areas, the climate tends to be hot. Covering a coastline of approximately 170 km, Cirebon is the producer of abundant fsh and their processed products. Meanwhile, the lowlands and highlands of Cirebon cover 9,180 hectares of rice felds and 2,550 hectares of moor areas, constituting a wide and fertile stretch of agricultural and plantation