Bali has been noted as the number one destination not to visit in 2025 by Fodors Magazine. The online travel news site publishes its ‘no list’ at the end of every year, and Bali has tanked top, with overtourism noted as a key reason.
Leaders and travel experts in Bali have kicked back over the claims as the festive high season approaches.
According to the Fodor list of fifteen destinations to reconsider in 2025, Bali is at number one, with Barcelona, Venice Koh, Samui, and Mount Everest.
Destinations noted to begin to suffer from the impacts of overtourism include Agrigento in Sicily, the British Virgin Islands, Kerala in India, Kyoto and Tokyo in Japan, and Oaxaca in Mexico.
According to Fodors, “Rapid, unchecked development spurred by overtourism is encroaching on Bali’s natural habitats, eroding its environmental and cultural heritage, and creating a “plastic apocalypse.”
They note, “Once-pristine beaches like Kuta and Seminyak are now buried under piles of trash, with local waste management systems struggling to keep up.”
While Bali’s waste management crisis is no joke, Bali’s beaches are not buried under tides of plastic waste 365 days a year.
Though much of the central south of the island, where the highest concentration of resorts can be found, is experiencing a range of issues, including traffic congestion, rapid tourism development, and waste management, there are many regions of Bali where authentic and genuinely meaningful travel experiences are ready and waiting to be explored.
Some even feel that regenerative tourism models could be the path forward to helping reconcile unsustainable development in the most densely populated parts of the island. It is a very thin line to tread, a series of interconnected and deeply complex issues to tackle with no one silver bullet solution on the cards.
Speaking to Fodors, Marta Soligo, assistant professor at the William F. Harrah College of Hospitality at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said, “Explain why an increasing number of tourism scholars studying destinations like Bali criticize the ‘economic growth imperative’—often proposed by corporations and tour operators headquartered in Western countries.”
Kristin Winkaffe from Winkaffe Global Travel told reporters, “Overtourism affects the very core of Balinese life. Traditional practices like the subak irrigation system, which has supported rice paddies for centuries, are now under strain as water is diverted to tourist areas.”
And added, “Without change, we’re risking more than just beautiful scenery—we’re at risk of losing cultural identity itself.” This is the point that many local leaders and tourism operators in Bali want to put forward in light of Fodor’s damning analysis, that help is needed, not boycotting travel to Bali altogether.
The Chairman of the Bali Tourism Board, Ida Bagus Agung Partha Adnyana, told reporters, “The problem is not the number of tourists overall, but the concentration of tourism in certain areas, especially in South Bali. This causes other areas in Bali that are actually rich in culture and natural beauty not to get the same attention, either from tourists or from tourism managers.”
He added, “Bali does not deserve to be considered a destination to avoid in 2025 because the problem faced is more about the concentration of tourism in South Bali, not overtourism as a whole.”
Adnyaan concluded, “This requires collaboration between the government, tourism actors, and local communities to create sustainable, inclusive, and beneficial tourism for all parties.”
In response to the article, ex-Deptuy Governor of Bali and Head of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) Bali, Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati, known locally as Cok Ace, also spoke to the media. He disputed claims that Bali is experiencing overtourism across the whole province.
He told reporters, “What is the basis or benchmark for saying Bali is overtourism? Has carrying capacity ever been made? Even if there are some spots that are congested? That is because the infrastructure is inadequate, and the granting of business permits is uncontrolled. So don’t say Bali is [experiencing] overtourism.”
Other leaders have said that Fodor’s No List gives Bali an opportunity to reflect on its position moving forward. The Deputy Chairman of the PHRI, I Gusti Ngurah Rai Suryawijaya, explained, “Bali must evaluate itself, re-evaluate and correct why we are not recommended or no list in 2025.”
“The issue that is currently viral is the first infrastructure or traffic congestion, and cleanliness is a special concern that is assessed, as well as security.”
He added, “This is a warning for Bali itself, which is that Bali must rise from having to be tired of preserving its natural culture and environment itself. If you want to exist, that’s why I often say ‘Bali tourism to exist as long as Balinese people can make it tradition and culture and maintain in the barometer, ‘namely nature and the environment.”
Suryawijaya explained, “We don’t need to blame each other, but this is the bitter reality that we have to accept. Let’s get back to being in the spirit to continue collaborating in terms of improving all factors that can lower Bali’s image.”
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George
Thursday 28th of November 2024
Neither the Governor, nor the chairman of the hotel association nor the Bali Sun itself have understood the essence of the article in Fodor's Magazine. Everyone is acting like the more than 5 million tourists arrive here in one day. This article is NOT pointing fingers at (over)tourism. It is actually telling that the local government has failed to do it's job with regards to the waste management and poor infrastructure. Using tourism as a cash cow this inadequate government fails to safe the island's treasures by supplying everyone (not only tourists)with clean and safe water, clean beaches, safe and clean streets, necessary roads, stop criminality, stop the bureaucracy and stop corruption. Off course tourists will concentrate on the South part of the island. Because they are not given the possibility to travel fast and easy to other parts of the island due to the lack of good roads. So, stop blaming the tourist! Without tourism the island will be much and much worse.
Albert
Tuesday 26th of November 2024
It has been a year since we visited Bali and want to return again. These kind of articles discourage us from returning. We made good friends on our visit. As an outsider it doesn't make sense to me to build an elevator to see Kelingking when there is a one lane road to it. We skipped much of Kuta and concentrated our visit to Nusa Penida, Culik, Kintamani and Penebel. We found for the most part uncrowded AND beautiful.
Wayan Mataram
Tuesday 26th of November 2024
Koreksi : "salah saya" agar dibaca "salah satu"
Wayan Mataram
Tuesday 26th of November 2024
...Mudah2an dimasa mendatang Bali tidak akan ditinggalkan visitors/tourists akibat kerusakan lingkungan, masalah sampah, over tourism/quality tourism , infrastructure kurang memadai. Uncontrollable development Kalau ini terjadi kasus mirip seperti masa Covid, masyarakat akan tidak dapat berharap banyak dari tourism, swasembada pangan adalah salah saya jawabannya
Agus
Monday 25th of November 2024
Unfortunately that's where the airport is so it's hard to avoid coming from Australia cheaply