Bali Must Redefine Metrics Of Tourism Success For The Sake Of The Island’s Future

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Bali’s leaders are seriously considering the impact that tourism has had on the island’s culture, landscape, and economy.

As legislators create the final draft of a new moratorium that will ban the development of new hotels, resorts, villas, and entertainment venues for up to two years, Bali is collectively assessing whether measuring the volume of tourists is the most beneficial metric by which to assess success.

The number of international tourists who visited Bali between January and the end of August reached 4,465,685 million people, and it is set to reach over 7 million by the end of the year.

This is in addition to the over 200,000 foreigners registered as residing in the province. This is an increase of 22% compared to the same period in 2023.

For most businesses in the tourism sector, and indeed the Ministry of Tourism, all growth is deemed as good.

Yet some local tourism leaders have called for the sector to assess success by different means, noting that more tourists do not necessarily convert to more benefits for the island. 

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Ex-Deputy Governor of Bali and the Head of the Bali Hotels and Restaurants Association, Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati, has called for leaders to look beyond arrival figures when assessing the impacts of tourism in Bali.

Sukawati, known locally by his nickname Cok Ace, is calling for a review of the Human Development Index ratio, life expectancy, mortality rate, and, most importantly, local people’s purchasing power to gather a more in-depth understanding of how tourism is impacting both tourists, the tourism sector and local residents.

This level of understanding will ultimately help inform how Bali can manage tourism operations province-wide, ensure that tourists have a positive experience and that local communities genuinely benefit from the growing number of visitors. 

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Cok Ace told reporters he wants leaders to “not only look at economic growth and average income per capita because the average income is also an accumulation with upper middle income. How much can we feel the benefits of tourism for the welfare of society?”

Made Ariandi, from the Chamber of Commerce, echoed the comments issued by Cok Ace. Ariandi, too, wants to have a more accurate picture of the economic impact tourism is having in the province.

He explained, “There is a possibility that tourists spend their money in their circle, with fellow foreigners, because many tourist accommodations such as villas are owned by foreigners.”

There is nothing explicitly wrong with foreign-owned businesses in Bali, provided they are operating above the law.

In fact, Indonesia has created a series of new visa categories that have been designed specifically to make it easier for high-wealth foreigners to invest in the country and set up businesses.

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The concern many local leaders and residents have is that there are an increasing number of foreigners believed to be operating businesses outside of the law. There are also fears that the increase in foreign businesses and the comparable amount resources these entities have available to them could be outcompeting local entrepreneurs before they’ve even started out. 

The misuse of Indonesian visas is under investigation by immigration officials in Bali, and a crackdown on visa abuse and foreigners breaking the law by any means has also been ordered by top government ministers. 

The Indonesian Minister for Investment and Maritime Affairs, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, told reporters that he wants to see a stronger crackdown on foreigners abusing the system in popular destinations like Bali.

He’s also a supporter of the idea of introducing a tourism quality standard to help increase the quality of tourism offerings across Bali and encourage more ‘high-quality tourists’ to visit. 

Minister Panjaitan told reporters that he feels the tide is starting to turn now that the relevant agencies are cracking down on visa misuse and unruly behavior by foreigners.

He explained, “I think this has started to run, and has started to be consolidated by Mr Sandiaga Uno [Tourism Minister], and [we question] why we accept unclean tourists. People who have problems, who make drugs, who cause trouble, who bring nude tourists, what do we do? Bali is great because of its culture, but what if it’s lost?”

Minister Panjaitan praised the efforts of Bali Immigration Officials, who have deported 157 foreigners in the year to date and detained a further 194 individuals for a range of offenses, including misuse of visas.

He added, “If we lose even 5,000 problematic tourists, that’s OK. From there, quality tourists will come, and now it seems that people are starting to listen to that and are starting to come back to travel to Indonesia.”