Sensitive tourism called for
JAKARTA (JP): Bali, Indonesia's touristic hub, has seen rapid changes in the past decade. But the chances of the island maintaining its success are uncertain if the local Balinese and their culture are consistently treated as merely the subjects of touristic development, an academician says.
I.B. Adnyana Manuaba, a professor at Udayana University in Denpasar, Bali, said during a seminar yesterday that Bali's rapid economic growth over the last few years -- a large portion of which is attributed to the tourism sector -- will be futile if the island's social settings and cultural traditions are forced to change.
"There is a limit to Bali's ability to endure all the social, cultural and environmental changes it must go through to satisfy the tourism industry. If the island collapses, there will be no need for all the five-star hotels and modern transportation that already exist," Manuaba told the seminar on economy and cultural tourism in Bali.
Yesterday's seminar was organized jointly by the Bali Post daily and the Kresna Naradha Foundation.
I Gde Sudibya from the Kuturan Dharma Budaya Foundation, which promotes culture and development studies, said the services sector -- which includes hotels and restaurants -- contributed 30.5 percent of Bali's local revenues in 1994, up from 17.4 percent in 1988.
Meanwhile, the contribution of the agricultural sector dropped from 37.4 percent in 1988 to 21.3 percent in 1994.
The highest growth rate of exports from Bali during the 1990- 1994 period was for fishery products, which grew by 35.9 percent per annum, and handicrafts, by 22.5 percent per annum.
Sudibya predicted that in 1996, Bali's economic growth is likely to reach 8.2 percent, of which 12 percent will come from the communications sector and 13 percent from trade, hotels and restaurants.
The government recently estimated Indonesia's growth for last year at 8.07 percent.
Problems
Although Bali showed sound macro-economic growth, the island still had its problems on the micro level, according to Sudibya.
"Investors must be careful because increasing competition in the tourism and handicraft industries seem to be resulting in excess supplies," he said.
Manuaba considered that Bali was not appropriate for mass tourism, which emphasizes the number of tourists visiting a region rather than their length of stay.
"Bali's tourism development needs effective and efficient planning. But this does not necessarily have to be economy- oriented, as far as the local culture is concerned. The local government must also impose strict law enforcement so tourism development does not get in the way of the local people's rituals and culture," he said. (pwn)