Bali plans to lure more visitors to northern shores as tourism creates problems
[JAKARTA] Bali’s tourism and transport ministries will work together to persuade more tourists to visit its less popular northern attractions, as the island grapples with traffic congestion and poorly behaved tourists on motorbikes.
Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno on Wednesday (Jan 3) unveiled a three-pronged plan to regulate visitor flows at the most popular sites.
Efforts will be made to promote activities in the northern areas, such as trekking at Mount Batur or dolphin watching at Lovina Beach.
These efforts will complement a tourist tax of 150,000 rupiah (S$12.80) announced last year, which is set to take effect on Feb 14, as well as the construction of a new light rail connecting the airport with major tourist destinations.
Ida Bagus Agung Partha Adnyana, chairman of the Indonesia Tourism Industry Association’s Bali branch, said funds raised from the tourist tax could be used for initiatives to improve tourists’ experiences on the island, such as waste management.
Almost 300,000 tonnes of plastic waste are generated in Bali each year, and more than half are openly burned or dumped. As a result, 33,000 tonnes of plastic waste – equivalent in weight to 2,609 double-decker buses – are annually leaked into the island’s waterways and the ocean.
Bali is one of several cities classified as facing overtourism by the World Travel and Tourism Council. Other such cities are Amsterdam, Barcelona, Athens, Miami, Phuket, Paris and Venice.
Although Bali’s tourism industry was heavily impacted by the pandemic, with many hotels closing or delaying their openings due to low occupancy rates, it has bounced back with vigour.
By the end of last year, the island welcomed 5.32 million foreign tourists – a 170 per cent increase year on year. Another 9.8 million domestic tourists visited the island.
In popular tourist areas such as Kuta, Seminyak and Uluwatu, all in the south, traffic can be very heavy during peak tourist season.
A viral video on social media showed dozens of travellers, both foreign and domestic, leaving their cars and walking to the Ngurah Rai International Airport on Dec 29.
The journey from Kuta to the airport should last only a few minutes, but lengthened into hours that day.
Construction begins this year on a 25-trillion-rupiah underground rail project that will run from the airport to the likes of Canggu and Seminyak.
“Nowadays, the region experiences chronic traffic jams, which could harm Bali’s reputation as an international tourism destination,” said Transportation Minister Budi Karya.
Indonesia has set an ambitious target of attracting 40 million foreign tourists by 2025. The government offers five-year multiple-entry visas to foreigners.
Bali’s infrastructure, including roads and other transportation systems, may struggle to accommodate the increasing number of visitors.
Motorbike usage is prevalent among both locals and tourists, contributing to the traffic scenario. The island had a total of 4.4 million private cars and motorbikes in use last year, roughly double that of the pandemic years, according to the Bali Transportation Agency.
Putu Rumawan, a tourism lecturer at Udayana Bali University, said the lack of proper regulation and control in tourism activities over an extended period has led to environmental problems in Bali.
He encouraged the government to accelerate the development of public transportation to overcome the impact of overtourism in Bali.
“Bali would be in a deadlock in 2025 if the government does not take quick action,” he added.
