Essential Tourism Infrastructure Improvements Will Better Tourist Experiences In Bali

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Bali is on a mission to level up its tourism infrastructure. As public dialogue grows over whether or not the island has or hasn’t surpassed the threshold for overtourism, leaders are committed to ensuring that culturally respectful and sustainable tourism is delivered as standard, and that includes high-quality infrastructure across the province. 

It may not seem the most important or even the most sexy of issues to consider as a tourist in Bali, but one of the first things leaders in Bali are going to attend to is the issue of unsightly and often unsafe overhead powerlines.

Anyone who has been to Bali before will be able to recall the sight of masses and great tangles of cables on street corners, above buildings, and over roads in every village and town in the province. 

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For many, it is just part and parcel of visiting Bali, but many have noted that the huge number of cables impacts the aesthetic of many areas.

The Regent of Badung, Nyoman Giri Prasta, has launched a new program called ‘Badung Terang Without Air Cable’ and has tasked electricians and public works officers to clean up cables in tourism areas. 

The Badung Regency Government wants to see the aesthetics improved as well as public safety. It is not uncommon for cables to drop to head height and even live wires to come loose too.

The Acting Secretary of Badung Ida Bagus Surya Suamba, spoke to reporters to explain the government’s five-year plan to clear up the cables. 

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Acting Secretary Suamba said, “The Regency Government itself is not silent looking at the condition. Badung already has a Regional Regulation (Perda) regarding the integrated utility of underground cables and has prepared integrated utilities in the tourism area, such as in the Canggu area, where we lower the aerial cable into the drainage.”

He added, “We hope that in the future, it can be imitated by all entrepreneurs and developers who build investments in the Badung Regency area. With the integrated underground cable utility, Badung’s aesthetics and appearance will be more organized.”

It has to be noted that part of the reason why there are so many cables all placed over each other is due to rapid development.

While villas, restaurants, beach clubs, and hotels have been built rapidly throughout areas like Seminyak and Canggu, the supporting public infrastructure has not had a chance to keep up.

This is the same issue that has triggered issues with traffic congestion, water supply, drainage, and waste management.

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Speaking separately, the Director of PT Ajna Bali Propertindo I, Gede Arya Wijaya, explained that the cables will be organized and integrated into an underground network to ensure public safety, improve aesthetics, and ensure that utilities are managed in a centralized way.

Wijaya said, “This is also inseparable from the developer’s efforts to harmonize with the Badung Regency Government program, which is known to currently have a modernization program by building an underground integrated utility as an effort to maintain aesthetics, purity, and beauty in the tourism area.”

It is these kinds of utility and public works projects that tourists can expect to help fund with the Bali Tourism Tax Levy.

The initiative, introduced in February 2024, has been implemented to help fund the preservation of Balinese culture, protect the natural landscape and level up tourism infrastructure across the island. However, upwards of 60% of tourists are believed to be dodging the fee.

The development of a better managed electricity and communications network is not immediately appealing to most tourists, yet it is an issue that influences every element of a vacation on the island, either directly or indirectly. 

The first round of funds collected as part of the Bail Tourism Tax Levy has yet to be budgeted and distributed to regency governments, though an announcement is expected before the end of the year.

Waste management is another topic that the Acting Governor of Bali has confirmed will be addressed using funds from the tourism tax initiative.

Sang Made Mahendra Jaya has just signed a new partnership with a Chinese environmental company to fund a new multi-million dollar waste processing facility that will be able to facilitate over 50% of the island’s annual waste production.