Tourists Reach 6.9 Million, Bali Requires Carrying Capacity Study

I Gusti Ngurah Kesuma Kelakan, a member of Commission VI of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI), is urging a thorough study regarding the carrying capacity of Bali Province in response to the increasing number of international tourists. Such a study is deemed essential to ensure that tourism growth remains aligned with environmental capacity, infrastructure, and the needs of the local community.

According to Kesuma Kelakan, the State-Owned Enterprise Management Agency (BP BUMN) and the Daya Anagata Nusantara Investment Management Agency (BPI Danantara) need to conduct calculations on Bali’s carrying capacity as part of the effort to build a high-quality and sustainable tourism ecosystem. He expressed this during a specific working visit by Commission VI of the DPR RI to Bali.

Kesuma Kelakan highlighted Bali’s economic growth of 5.82% and the number of international tourist arrivals, which reached 6,948,754 throughout 2025.

“In 2025, tourism visits, specifically international tourist arrivals to Bali, reached approximately 7 million. It is high time we begin calculating the carrying capacity of the Bali region to support high-quality and sustainable tourism,” Kesuma Kelakan stated in a written statement on Saturday (5/9/2026).

According to Kesuma Kelakan, the carrying capacity calculations must encompass various aspects directly related to the sustainability of tourism activities. These include the availability of clean water, energy supply, road capacity, and the ability of airports to handle flight traffic.

Kesuma Kelakan believes the study is necessary so that the increase in tourist numbers does not place excessive pressure on Bali’s infrastructure and environment. In addition to carrying capacity issues, he also highlighted that tourist distribution remains concentrated in the South Bali region.

According to Kesuma Kelakan, this condition should be part of the study to identify the factors causing tourists to prefer South Bali over other parts of the province.

“We must also examine what actually causes international tourists to prefer South Bali over North Bali. Is it due to infrastructure, the availability of facilities, or something else? This must begin to be studied,” said Kesuma Kelakan.

“This needs to be investigated,” he concluded.