Tourism in Bali

Other Link: News, Bali, Tips, Download

The Balinese have been more exposed to international tourists and generally speak more english than people in other parts of the Indonesian archipelago. They have managed to preserve their culture despite overwhelming foreign influences brought to the region by an ever increasing number of tourists.

Bali is the Hawaii of the East. Of the four million tourists who came to Indonesia in 1994, more than 750,000 flew straight to Bali. The number of foreign and domestic tourists arriving in Bali is now approaching 1.5 million a year. The growth in visitors, which stands at about 10% per year, is expected to continue through the late 1990s. Bali already has a full half of all the hotels in Indonesia.

Bali makes a valuable study in the effects of mass tourism on the social and cultural patterns of an indigenous population. Every generation of visitors arrives to “discover” Bali, pronounce it a paradise, and then once home mourns that it’s lost forever. Visitors are so enthralled with the legend surrounding Bali; many arrive thinking that Indonesia is a part of Bali rather than the other way round.

Able to survive Islam, war, coups, and occupations, Bali has been less successful in withstanding the tidal waves of tourists. Commercialism has crept into every aspect of Balinese life. You now have to go deep into the interior, up to the mountain villages, to find people still adhering to the old traditions.

Who Are Those Guys?
Two types of foreign visitors arrive on Bali: those who come to relax on holiday, and those who come to experience the culture, to “discover” Bali. Demographically, the highest percentage is in the 25-35 range with an average length of stay of about 12 days. Singapore sends the greatest number of visitors, followed by Japan, Malaysia, Australia, Taiwan, the Netherlands, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Hong Kong, and South Korea.

The “international class” stays in culture-neuter luxury resorts concentrated in an unseen, unfelt quarantine zone along the southern coastline. With snapshots of volcanoes and rice terraces in their cameras and souvenirs in their hands, they shuttle in air-conditioned buses with tinted windows to talky, fake trance dances, truncated ‘wayang’ performances and staged cremations. They return south at dusk to Nusa Dua and Sanur to watch yet more dances by torchlight while eating continental dinners. These tourists have almost no impact on the values of Bali, leaving the Balinese culture more or less intact.

Then there are the yuppies, the travelers, and the college students. These so-called “cultural tourists” have come to Bali to experience the gentle climate, relatively low prices, good surfing beaches and general ambience that have made this island a popular hangout for young people for more than 15 years. They stay in inexpensive homestays or beach inns in Kuta, Legian, Seminyak and Candidasa, romp in the surf off Uluwatu, roar around the island on rented motorcycles or Suzuki and trip out on magic mushroom omelets while listening to rock tapes.

Other Link: News, Bali, Tips, Download