Tourists could be banned from Bali’s mountains due to bad behaviour
IndependentMAR 13 2023
Indonesia's government has approved a moratorium on building hotels, villas, and nightclubs on the island of Bali. Government officials said the reasons for the policy include protecting the environment and indigenous culture.
According to acting Bali Gov. Sang Made Mahendra Jaya, the moratorium, which is to occur in the Sarbagita region, is set for one to two years, but potentially up to 10 years. He added that the main goal is to slow commercial development on rice fields.
According to another government official, the 200K foreigners now living in Bali—alongside the 2.9M tourists already welcomed this year—has also resulted in increased crime and competition for jobs.
Besides the environmental issues, from water allocation to pollution and littering, tourism has led to cultural decay, largely thanks to tourists disrespecting local people and their religious sites. If tourism was cut back, Bali could save its cultural identity while also propping up its economy through marine and agricultural industries. This is not a zero-sum game.
Balinese culture has sustained and even integrated itself with foreign visitors for almost a century. As children continue to learn traditional worship, dress, and sartart, they also monetize their culture by performing for and selling merchandise to tourists. As long as locals are able to maintain their historical lifestyle at home, tourism wonshouldn't be a problem.