Bali Hopes Construction Freeze Can Tame Tourism
IN Bali, fed-up residents want to slow the mass tourism that is their biggest money earner, hoping a plan to freeze hotel-building can restore some calm.
Anxious about runaway tourism, many Balinese yearn for a more tranquil yesteryear, much like residents in European hotspots Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca or Venice.
In response, Indonesian authorities recently announced plans, yet to be confirmed by the new government, for a two-year moratorium on building hotels, villas and nightclubs.
Before foreign surfers discovered its waves decades ago, Canggu was a quiet, southern Balinese beachside village perched on the Indian Ocean and dotted with padi fields.
Now, it bristles with hotels and lodgings, its streets clogged with cars, scooters and trucks. Locals like Kadek Candrawati, 23, fear the environment is taking second place.
“Canggu is now busier… its tranquillity and greenery are gradually disappearing,” said Kadek, who owns a motorcycle rental service that earns her seven million rupiah (RM2,000) monthly.
“The government and the community need to work together to ensure that Bali stays green, sustainable, and the local culture is preserved.
“I hope that Bali’s tourism can continue to grow, while maintaining a balance between development and the environment.”
Bali’s lush canvas of rainforests, padi fields and surf beaches that host luxury resorts and backpacker haunts has kept tourists coming back.
When tourism numbers slumped during the Covid pandemic, the authorities tried to coax foreigners back into Bali with digital-nomad and golden-investor visas.
No such incentives are needed now. Bali attracted nearly three million foreign visitors in just the first six months of this year, mostly from Australia, China and India, official figures show.
Foreign tourists spent an average of US$1,625 per visit last year, up from US$1,145 in 2019 before the pandemic, Indonesia’s statistics agency said.
It is far from certain that new Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto wants to curb that income.
The previous government had promised a tourism-related construction freeze and a light rail system to ease traffic in Bali.
But Prabowo, yet to comment on the plans, has raised doubts that he wants to arrest Bali’s development.
Meeting island officials recently, he pledged a second international airport to turn Bali into “the new Singapore, the new Hong Kong… an economic centre”.
Indonesian environmental group Walhi says the boom in tourism accommodation has gone too far.
The damage to Bali’s natural beauty is visible to the eye. A wave of plastic trash has swamped pristine beaches, while groundwater over-extraction has dried up more than half its rivers.
Over-tourism has also put pressure on a Unesco-listed irrigation system that feeds padi fields, with greenlands that collect water increasingly built upon.
Local concerns have been fed by viral videos showing excavations of limestone cliffs for construction in southern Bali, with chunks of land tumbling into the ocean.
“Many surf coaches have lost their livelihoods because guests are unwilling to surf due to the dirty seawater,” said surfer Piter Panjaitan, 42, in Ungasan.
Misbehaving tourists have also sparked local ire, notably over foreigners posing naked at sacred sites.
Jakarta says the building freeze plan aims to balance economic gain from tourism with preserving Bali’s natural beauty.
But not everyone is in favour of the proposed halt to construction.
Bali’s hotel and restaurant association vice-chairman, I Gusti Ngurah Rai Suryawijaya, called for a deeper study before any moratorium that could hurt tourism-reliant residents.
“When there’s oversupply, a moratorium is acceptable to prevent competition. But now, demand is increasing. Our occupancy rates have reached 80 to 90 per cent.”
Source: nst.com.my
