Review tourism policy to preserve Bali

I Gde Pitana, School of Agriculture, University of Udayana, Denpasar

For many developing countries like Indonesia, tourism is often dubbed as "a passport to development, and an "invisible export and nonpolluting industry."

Yet, tourism is also viewed as a potent and effective capitalist weapon to conquer and destroy the culture of third- world countries -- as a form of neo-colonialism and neo- imperialism.

On the other hand, many regard tourism as a means to preserve and even to enrich the cultures of the said country.

In the case of Bali, Indonesia's most prominent tourist destination, tourism has drastically changed the face of the island from an agrarian culture into a more profane tourism-based society.

It has been considered as a potential economic generator and a dynamic agent of sociocultural change. As an island with limited natural resources such as mining or forestry, Bali boasts a rich tradition and culture to attract foreign visitors and capital to the island.

According to a study by Nyoman Erawan, tourism contributed about 51.6 percent of the province's public revenue in l998. The industry also absorbed 36.1 percent of Bali's total workforce. Tourism still generated at least Rp 421.85 billion in revenue in 2001 despite the Sept. 11 tragedy.

However, many experts fear that the "touristification" and global tourism industry will gradually and drastically destroy the high culture and tradition of Bali and its society.

Bali is experiencing cultural erosion. The quality of sacred arts and dance is diminishing due to commercial exploitation to cater to tourist demands. On the other hand, some Western and local scholars believe that tourism does not significantly affect both culture and society.

Tourism, they say, has actually strengthened the religious, traditional and social system of the Balinese people. "The income gained from tourist performances and sale of crafts is channeled back to strengthen the religious and temporal bonds that are the source of strength for the Balinese: The banjar and village temples," writes one observer.

Studies reveal that despite cultural erosion, tourism has a significant role in supporting the preservation of culture and tradition.

However, the present policies on tourism must be reviewed to ensure the island's sustainable development. The rapid growth of the tourism industry has, to varying degrees, caused many social, economic and environmental problems, especially under regional autonomy.

In the era of regional autonomy, the tourism industry of this small island, with limited water and other natural resources, has faced serious challenges. Autonomy at a regional level will create wide opportunities for local authorities to build to excess various facilities, ignoring the master plan of sustainable development.

Policies have tended to force regional administrations to increase revenue by building hotels and other tourist facilities, without considering their various social, cultural and environmental impacts.

Other threats could be the possibility of interregional conflicts in managing bordering areas, water resources and forested areas.

To drive more investment, local governments may well likely sacrifice productive farming land to make way for the development of tourist facilities, such as hotels, resorts, restaurants and other supporting infrastructure.

Development projects could increasingly take place near lakes, rivers, and coastal areas considered sacred by the local Balinese Hindu community. Any disturbances or development activities in these holy areas would cause spiritual and cosmological imbalance to the island and its people. Transformation of sacred places into profane facilities would deteriorate the religious and cultural lives of most Hindus in Bali.

Basically an agrarian society, the Balinese used to depend on farming and related activities such as subak (traditional farming), irrigation as well as social schemes.

Loss of land to nonagricultural uses would affect social and cultural systems as well as relationships between the Balinese people, with their intangible world.

Each plot of land has always been associated with a temple or other religious and social obligations.

Owners or farmers of land and rice fields have the obligation to take care of the temples and are included in social organizations like the subak and customary villages. Problems usually emerge when ownership of the land is transferred to non- Hindu people.

Regional autonomy will also cause partial management in each regency. Tourism is a complex and multi-dimensional sector that requires a a holistic management approach.

In Bali, regional autonomy must be implemented only at the provincial level to ensure the sustainability of social and cultural aspects of life and ecosystems. The success of Bali's tourism industry lies in the island's entirety, not in the beauty or richness of one town or regency.

Tourism is a total product. Therefore, its success and progress really depend on the people who run the industry and on the people living on the island.

The above is an excerpt from the writer's inaugural speech as professor of the Social and Economic Department of the School of Agriculture at the University of Udayana on June 15.