Congestion, One of the Problems of Tourism in Bali

09/14/2012, 08:54 WIB

COMPASS IMAGES / KRISTIANTO PURNOMO

Foreign tourists enjoy the beauty of Dreamland Beach, Pecatu Village, Badung Regency, Bali, Monday (8/30/2010).

Author: Ni Luh Made Pertiwi F

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Editor: I Made Asdhiana

TUBAN, KOMPAS.com - Bali traffic and traffic is only one of the six tourism problems in
Bali. Based on research released by the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy
(Kemenparekraf) in collaboration with various foreign institutions in 2011, there were six
problems in the field of tourism facing Bali.

"After the traffic, infrastructure problems. The Balinese feel they have to compete with tourists
in terms of infrastructure utilization, "said the Head of the Parekraf Resources Development
Agency, I Gde Pitana, during the Sustainable Tourism Development Conference, in Tuban, Bali,
Thursday (9/13/2012).

Another problem is the preservation of natural resources and cultural preservation. Pitana
revealed that Balinese began to feel a problem in terms of cultural preservation.

"If you look from the outside, people admire Bali that tourism preserves Balinese culture. But
this is very good when the Balinese feel that Balinese culture is threatened with its preservation,
"said Pitana.

In addition, continued Pitana, the problem faced in the tourism sector is the availability of
water. He said tourism was always blamed when it came to water shortages.

"From 3 to 5 star hotels in Bali, the million cubic meters of water is only around 2.8 percent of
the use of water supply in Bali," Pitana explained.
While the sixth problem is tourism management. Pitana says people often say that southern Bali
will sink, while northern Bali is still empty.

Examples include Pemuteran Village in western Bali. The village was once a barren area and the
people are poor. However, tourism can prove that tourism can turn a barren area into a
worldwide tourist destination.

"In the past people used to destroy coral reefs, and became growers of coral reefs. They fish
pengembon become fish keepers, "continued Pitana.

Unfortunately, development in southern Bali is too massive. For example, Pitana said that there
are plans to build a budget hotel with a land area of only 2,800 square meters for 300 rooms. "It
is said that he already got permission," he said.

The same thing was also expressed by Tourism Planning Specialist, Myra P Gunawan. He said
that an attitude of sincerity from each regional head was needed to say that the area was full and
provide opportunities for other regions.

"Regencies need awareness for their own continuity, whether I want to continue to grow or I will
sustain (maintain) existing. This is still rare, because people certainly want to continue to
grow. What we see is always a limit to growth, we must remember our siblings, our neighbors,
"he said.

Head of the Culture and Tourism Office of the Province of Bali, Ida Bagus Kade Subhiksu said
that in fact the provincial government had issued a moratorium on hotel restrictions in southern
Bali. Unfortunately, this moratorium seems not to be "heard".

"The south is already very crowded. There are 100 star hotels in Badung Regency alone, not yet
in Denpasar City and Gianyar Regency, "Subhiksu said.

The Sustainable Tourism Development Conference was attended by stakeholders from central
and local government agencies, tourism associations and industries, managers of tourist
destinations, academics, and NGOs.

In the conference noted a number of tourism experts who are representatives of the international
organization World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the ILO, tourism practitioners and
NGOs, were present as speakers at the conference which took place in Bali on September 13-14,
2012.