Review tourism policy to preserve Bali

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.