Calls For Bali To Become Special Autonomous Region For Tourism Increasing 

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Top officials in Bali are calling for the province to be granted special autonomous zone status for tourism so that leaders can manage the island differently.

Leaders want to have greater political and administrative authority to manage the island in a way that is environmentally sustainable, economically prosperous, and beneficial to local people. 

The start of this story goes back a decade to when Made Mangku Pastika was still the Governor of Bali.

Fourteen years ago, Ex-Governor Pastika stated that he would honor and adhere to the recommendations of the Culture and Tourism Resources Development Agency of the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economies.

However, fast-forward almost a decade and a half, and it is clear that rapid development and the spread of tourism into previously untouched areas of the island have allowed it to happen.

Now, top tourism leaders want the central government to establish a moratorium on making Bali a Special Autonomous Region for Tourism to ensure that all tourism development choices are governed by one agency. 

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Top officials have confirmed that part of the reason why tourism development in Bali has been allowed to spread so quickly is because spatial planning and building permits have not been granted with a single vision in mind. 

Speaking to reporters earlier this week, the Head of the Denpasar Investment and One Stop Integrated Services Service, Ida Bagus Benny Pidada Rurus, explained how hotel and accommodation licenses are granted in Bali.

Hotels, resorts, and luxury residences with over 200 rooms must apply for their permits through the central government; hotels and accommodations planned to have 101-200 rooms must process their permits through the provincial government, and hotels and resorts with 100 rooms or less must process all licenses through the district and city governments; often these departments are not consulting with one another before each and every permit is granted. 

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In a separate interview, the Secretary of the Prajaniti DPD for Bali Province, I Made Dwija Suastana, who is also a tourism business owner, is calling for an emergency committee to be created within the Ali Provincial Government so that a moratorium can be brought into effect as quickly as possible. 

Suastana explained “Previously there was a proposal to form a special Bali tourism authority, as an umbrella for this proposal I promise to make Bali a Special Autonomous Region for Cultural Tourism. Because the character of Bali has always been its culture and customs.”

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“So if Bali becomes a special autonomous region for cultural tourism, then Bali’s opportunity to live from tourism, as well as getting a profit share from PT Angkasa Pura’s income at Ngurah Rai Airport, can be managed by Bali for sustainable cultural tourism.”

Whether a moratorium is drawn up and written into policy remains to be seen.

Yet, it is clear that this proposal and calls for investigations into spatial planning in Bali are growing.

The discussion has long been on the table for political leaders and tourism stakeholders, but now the issues at play are abundantly clear to local communities and tourists themselves. 

On Friday 16th May a construction landslide decimated the famous limestone cliffs at Pemutih Pecatu Beach, between Bingin Beach and Impossibles Beach in Uluwatu.

While the company responsible for the construction of a new luxury residence on the cliff-backed beach says that they will prepare the damage to the beach within 28 days, the reality is nothing can be done to rebuild an ancient limestone cliff. 

Indonesia’s Minister for Tourism and Creative Economies, Sandiaga Uno, said that an investigation is now underway. He told reporters, “We are checking, and this is being marketed by the developers. If I’m not mistaken, there is AMDAL (Environmental Impact Analysis) data. We make sure this complies with regulations.”