Balinese sociocultural values at stake
Balinese sociocultural values at stake
By Winarta Adisubrata
JAKARTA (JP): This paper on April 26 ran an article on the
rapid changes in Bali brought on by tourism.
The article, based on a seminar, quoted Udayana University
professor Ida Bagus Adnyana Manuaba as saying that a large
portion of Bali's revenues from the tourism sector will be lost
if the island's social settings and cultural traditions are
forced to change.
The seminar was jointly organized by The Bali Post and the
Kresna Naradha Foundation.
The staggering increase in tourism was reflected in the
sector's 30.5 percent contribution to local revenues in 1994, up
from 17.4 percent in 1988. On the other hand, the contribution of
the agricultural sector dropped from 37.4 percent in 1988 to 21.3
percent in 1994.
Meanwhile, I Gde Sudibya from the Kuturan Dharma Budaya
Foundation was quoted as saying that "investors must be careful
because increasing competition in the tourism and handicraft
industries seems to be resulting in excess supply".
Sudibya, however, did not mention the possible negative
effects of tourism on the Balinese.
In the same edition, The Jakarta Post published a news item in
the "Across the Archipelago" column. It quoted John Hopson, an
Australian tour operator, as saying that many tourists from his
country canceled their trips to Bali and instead went to Penang,
Malaysia.
The paper quoted him as saying: "The vendors (in Bali)
sometimes use rude words and intimidation to make the tourists
buy".
Recent media reports on tourism in Bali have left observers
very much apprehensive. Being one of the front guards in tourism
and cultural resilience, the predominantly Hindu island is also
recognized as a unique community.
Even a layman can see that the last bastion of Hinduism in
Indonesia is likely to be swept away by modernity and the
negative effects of tourism and the electronic media.
Safety and security are now a source of concern, as is the
staggering number of abortions among the younger Balinese, which
reached 3,000 in 1995. This is an alarming situation never before
experienced by the Balinese.
The number of venereal disease and AIDS patients has also
risen significantly. One suspects that the increase is linked to
drug deals conducted mostly by foreign backpackers flocking
around Kuta Beach, the majority of whom are Australian.
In other developing countries, tourism has been blamed for
increases in crime rates, drug abuse and the spread of AIDS.
The recent imbroglio over beer levies only underlined the
heavy consumption of the drink by visitors. This undoubtedly
influences the behavior of local youngsters, who eagerly copy the
way foreigners dress and the way they eat and drink.
It is safe to say that tourism has changed the way of life of
the locals in return for a better standard of living, but the
sociocultural values of the Balinese are now at stake.
Bali has always been known as the safest place in Indonesia, a
condition linked to their Hindu religion, but after more than
three decades of booming tourism, this attribute has come into
question.
Like the pop song Kembalikan Baliku Kepadaku (Return my Bali
to me), it is time to address these social illnesses before they
spread to other islands in the vicinity.
The writer is an observer of tourism affairs.