Improving tourist facilities in Bali

Improving tourist facilities in Bali

I refer to the article in Sunday's edition of The Jakarta Post
(May 28, 2000) titled Govt must change tourism policy.

Rita Widiadana's thoughtful article about tourism policy
raised many interesting issues which my wife and I, when we were
tourists in Bali, discussed during our recent visit. We, on our
fourth trip, were enjoying ourselves greatly, but it was obvious
that tourist numbers had plunged and that virtually every
restaurant, retailer and hotel was struggling to survive. Like
Rita, we wondered what was going wrong, what could be done.

Here are some observations:

Health: Your analysis is absolutely correct. This concerns
many tourists, some of whom are elderly and have ongoing medical
problems.

Security and politics: In my little town on the surfcoast of
Australia, nearly everyone has been to Bali. They know it well
and understand that events in Sumatra or the Malukus have little
bearing on their holiday plans, though they were certainly
concerned by the recent violence in Lombok. But for the average
tourist, one headline about violence in the tropics is enough to
put them off traveling for years. I can't see tourism recovering
until Indonesia develops an entirely new regional political
structure and ethnic/religious violence is reduced, and that's
probably years off. Papua is probably about to begin producing
exactly the kind of headlines you don't want.

Cultural tourism: Visits to ancient sites, museums, temples,
dance performances and the like have always appealed to a
minority, but even that minority is often disappointed. We
suggest that the provision of quality information -- brochures,
explanatory signs, interpretive centers with informative displays
etc., which are almost totally absent.

Most dance performances are great and people really enjoy
them, but again the interpretive material is very limited.
On the positive side, the best cultural facility I have visited
is Neka Museum. We don't have a regional gallery of that standard
in Australia (let alone a private one) and Mr. Neka deserves the
highest praise. I suggest this is probably the best such site on
offer in Bali.

Infrastructure: We were with you in May and the wet season is
lingering on, but the roads have deteriorated to an amazing
degree in the busy area south and west of Ubud. The government
needs to consider building some quality road links as a matter of
urgency if it wants tourists to give positive word-of-mouth
messages about road travel around Bali.

Australia has limited water resources and few people spread
over huge areas, but even tiny country towns generally have good
quality piped water. When will Bali, with its ample water supply,
give villagers, let alone tourists, drinkable tap water? I find
it amazing that tourists are expected to pay quite substantial
sums for hotel accommodation and yet need to buy bottled water at
a warung to clean their teeth or keep by the bedside overnight.

Restaurants: Undoubtedly many tourists regard eating out as
the highlight of their experience. There are many fine
restaurants, particularly in Ubud and Kuta.

Finally, visitors are struck by the contrast between the huge
investment in hotels, temples and palaces and the poverty of public
provisions such as infrastructure, transport and health services.
Is this due to the apparent absence of an active Bali-wide
administration or village-level local government authority? If a tiny
fraction of the money earned by the big tourist operators was
invested in the local community, Bali would be a much more attractive
destination.

STEVE CRADDOCK

Barwon Heads, Australia