Why not let tourists decide?

Tourism brings many things: money to those lucky enough to be in the box seat, a crazy accumulation of poor taste and questionable activities for some and, of course, fun for those bemused foreigners who come looking for an alternative experience. It now has apparently brought corporate censorship.

Bali produces a world-class tourist magazine known as Bali Echo. In years gone by, it was filled with glossy shots of the rich and indolent having a great time at various pubs around town -- you know, the Tattler approach. While it was an ego surge for those in the pics, it added nothing to an appreciation of Bali.

Lately, under new editorship, the magazine has tried to enlighten the more interested tourists about some of the social and historical aspects of Bali that they may not otherwise be aware of (until, that is, they are infected by a nasty bug caught from one of the sex workers that the Echo is now talking about). In addition to issues such as the rise of surfing and the talent of young artists, it has run articles on planning problems in Denpasar, the sex trade, and Bali's violent political history. The authors are mainly Indonesians.

As a result, the Intercontinental and Four Seasons resorts have threatened to boycott the magazine -- not placing advertising and not distributing it free to guests -- as they don't think what is written is suitable or promotes an "appropriate" image of Bali.

So when did starched managers of huge resorts become arbiters of public taste? Do they assume that all tourists are morons for whom a beer, sunburn and a case full of cheap shopping is all there is? Why can't they let their guests decide what they want to read?

It's quite insulting to the people of Bali, and Indonesians at large, that their lives are only allowed to be used as a stage show with funny costumes and filmable ceremonies, or as a collection of shopping bags, but not the reality of people trying to live their lives in difficult and changing times.

An obvious attempt to use a Rousseau-like idyll in place of a complex social reality, especially when private profit is the clear motive, should be abhorred by all.

SEAN FOLEY

Sayan, Bali