Indonesia’s tourist resort island of Bali has proposed a ban lasting a year or two on the construction of hotels, villas and nightclubs in some areas, as it grapples with the problem of overdevelopment of land, its governor told reporters.
The plan has been suggested to the central government, which wants to reform tourism on Bali, one of Indonesia’s main attractions, in a bid to boost tourism quality and jobs while preserving the island’s indigenous culture.
The moratorium on the busy areas of Denpasar, Badung, Gianyar, and Tabanan takes aim at overdevelopment for commercial purposes, such as beach clubs, Bali Interim Governor Sang Made Mahendra Jaya said.
Photo: Reuters
“We want to reform it,” the news Web site Detik quoted him as saying.
“Hopefully, there will be an instruction related to the moratorium on the construction of hotels, villas, discotheques and beach clubs ... for one to two years,” he said.
The governor’s office and the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The government would discuss the plan for a two-year moratorium, which could stretch up to 10 years, Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Pandjaitan has said, the Jakarta Post reported.
His ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Luhut said that about 200,000 foreigners now live in Bali, contributing to problems such as crime, overdevelopment and competition for jobs.
Foreign arrivals in Bali have surged since it reopened for tourism after the COVID-19 pandemic. Videos of misbehaving tourists often go viral, angering residents and sparking harsh responses from social media users in Indonesia.
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