Eid Holiday Fails to Boost Sales for Traders at Kuta Beach
Traders at Kuta Beach are complaining about the lack of a significant sales boost during the long Eid al-Fitr holiday in 2026.
One of them, Wayan Asih, a clothing seller at the corner of Kuta Beach, admitted that sales during the holiday period were no different from ordinary days.
“It seems like this year, Eid doesn’t feel like Eid; it’s all the same. Basically, it’s quiet. Business is slow right now,” she said when met while arranging clothes in her shop on Thursday (26/3/2026).
During this Eid period, she observed that the Kuta Beach area was busy for the first three days of Eid. However, this condition did not have a major impact on sales at her shop.
She attributed this situation partly to the conflict in the Middle East, which has affected the decline in the number of tourists, particularly from Europe. Currently, she relies more on tourists from Australia and some from China.
“The visitors here now are mostly from Australia. There are no Europeans. As for local visitors, not really,” explained the 64-year-old woman.
Similar complaints were voiced by a beverage seller on the edge of Kuta Beach. Her sales were flat during the Eid holiday. “Even with Eid like this, there’s no increase,” said the woman, who requested her name not be mentioned, while sitting waiting for customers.
She also assessed that the Kuta Beach area during recent Eids is not as crowded as it was three to four years ago. Local visitors stopping by during Eid are no longer as numerous.
“People from Java come here casually. Not many. How to put it, not like two, three, four years ago when there were a lot,” she lamented.
Meanwhile, unlike Wayan Asih, the trader believed that the decline in tourist visits is greatly influenced by the condition of Kuta Beach, which is experiencing severe abrasion. According to her, this makes tourists feel uncomfortable and reduces the beach’s beauty.
“Because the beach is like this, already eroded. If the beach were nice, there would definitely be visitors. Because it’s like this, visitors turn away. The erosion is noticeable,” she revealed.