Tourism Minister Gives Backing To New Hotel Build Ban In Bali

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Leaders in Indonesia are in the process of creating new legislation that will see a localized ban on building hotels, resorts, nightclubs, and other tourism developments in Bali’s busiest resorts.

The moratorium has received backing from Bali’s Acting Governor and Indonesia’s Minister of Investment. Indonesia’s Minister for Tourism and Creative Economies has also given his nod of approval for the policy. 

The exact details of the moratorium will be revealed in due course, but as leaders have spoken publicly about the new legislation, business developers, Bali residents, and tourists have all been sharing their insights on the impact and scope the new policy could have. 

What is known so far is that the moratorium will focus on banning the development of big tourism infrastructure, such as hotels and beach clubs in the Denpasar, Badung, Gianyar, and Tabanan areas, which together are known locally as Sarbagita. 

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In a public meeting held over the weekend, the Acting Governor of Bali, Sang Made Mahendra Jaya explained, “The Bali Provincial Government has made a proposal to the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment to implement a moratorium on the construction of hotels, villas, discos, and beach clubs in the Sarbagita area for 1-2 years, we want to organize it first.”

Speaking shortly after, the Indonesian Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, revealed that the policy could be introduced for up to ten years should the first phase of the legislation implementation be as impactful as predicted.

He told reporters, “We’ll see later. It could be (valid for) five years, it could be ten years. It just depends on the evaluation.”

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Indonesia’s Tourism Minister, Sandiaga Uno, has also shared his backing for the new policy.

In an interview on Friday afternoon, he explained, “There are several actions that are currently being finalized as policies that will be immediately completed by the government, especially considering the potential for density, which makes the situation very unsafe and uncomfortable, especially in several destinations in Indonesia, namely in South Bali.”

Minister Uno has long advocated for more tourism development to be initiated in west, north, and east Bali and it has been clear that South Bali will not be left to trundle along its trajectory towards overtourism.

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Minister Uno has also spoken regularly about the need to promote more culturally respectful and sustainable tourism across the province and move away from a mass tourism model as is seen currently in resorts like Kuta, Seminyak, Canggu, Uluwatu, and Ubud. 

Speaking to the media in the wake of the announcement of a moratorium, the Urban and Spatial Planning lecturer from Udayana University and Warmadewa University, Putu Rumawan Salain, explained that this new policy has been coming for a long time.

He made reference to a similar policy that was proposed when Made Mangku Prasika was the Governor of Bali. 

Salain wants to see the moratorium brought to fruition this time. He noted, “The moratorium should not be just a discourse and should not be played around with anymore.”

“It must clearly state the functions that are subject to the moratorium. Later, if you are not allowed to build hotels, (but) you are allowed to build tourist cottages instead, that means it is the same as a lie.”

He confirmed that the latest data shows that land conversion in Bali for tourism purposes has reached 1,000 hectares a year. Salain added, “The absorption of oxygen contributions has decreased, so the city is getting hotter.”

The impact a moratorium would have on Bali would be huge, though, in the immediate term, it would have little impact on tourists. There is already sufficient room occupancy available throughout Bali’s most in-demand resorts.

Should the moratorium go ahead and a ban on new hotels, beach clubs, and resorts in Bali’s biggest destinations come into effect, tourism developers will undoubtedly look for exciting destinations to seed their investments in the north, east, and west of the province and beyond.