Tourism in Bali
Arthur: Stephanie A. Thullen. The Issue
The island of Bali, Indonesia, always has been an enchanting place for foreigners. Images of rice paddies, beautiful beaches and temples and a fascinating culture draw tourists from all around the world. It was only in the 1970s that tourism in Bali started to develop. The industry did bring many benefits to the island, such as increased employment, and its transformation from a marginal economic area of the country to the most important area in Indonesia after Jakarta. However, Bali s tourism development occurred quickly and without proper planning. Therefore, tourism has caused some serious damage to the island's environment. As one example, the sleepy village of Kuta became a tourist enclave, with its natural resources degraded and its infrastructure overwhelmed. This paper will discuss the origins of tourism in Bali and how it has affected the island's environment. It also will discuss proposed alternatives to let tourism and the environment coexist in a more balanced fashion.
Description
Mass tourism in Bali began in 1969 with the construction of the new Ngurah Rai International Airport, allowing foreign flights directly into the island, rather than arrival via Jakarta. Three years later, in 1972, the Master Plan for the Development of Tourism in Bali was drawn by the government of Indonesia. The government wanted to make Bali the "showcase" of Indonesia and to serve as the model of future tourism development for the rest of the country.(1) The plan was financed by the United Nations Development Programme and carried out by the World Bank. A consulting company from France, SCETO, drew up the plans, which called for the development of tourism in the southern peninsula of the island, Nusa Dua, and allowing day- trip excursions to the interior in order to protect the cultural integrity of Bali, the island's main attraction. (2) The plan was to cater to well-to-do tourists from