Relation
of tourism and development in Bali
Mass tourism in Bali began in 1969
with the construction of the new Ngurah Rai International Airport,
allowing foreign flights directly into the island, rather than arrival via
Jakarta. Three years later, in 1972, the,when an oil market collapse
forced Indonesia to promote other exports and investments, that the expected
tourism targets the government anticipated were reached. Moreover, after Garuda
Airlines, the Indonesian airline, decided to allow foreign airlines to fly
directly into Bali, tourism soared. Tourist arrivals in Bali grew from 30,000
in 1969 to 700,000 in 1989. (5) From 1990 to 1993, these numbers rose from 2.5
million to 4 million. (6) Bali's population in 1992 was about 3 million. (7) Master Plan for the Development of Tourism in
Bali was drawn by the government of Indonesia.
The best example of the impacts of
rapid tourism development in Bali, however, can be seen in the town of Kuta,
located on the isthmus south of Denpasar and north of Nusa Dua. Around 1970, before tourism exploded in
Bali, Kuta was a small Balinese village of 9,000 people, with little economic
or cultural importance in Bali. (15) Most of the population was poor, deriving
its income from farming and fishing, although land was not very productive and
the income from fishing very sporadic. (16) There were no restaurants and only
two small hotels located in the outskirts of the village. The only potential
resource of the village was the beach, although the Balinese had no value for
it since it was not productive land and spiritually impure. (17)
Although Kuta was by no means
targeted by the government's tourism plan of Bali, its location close to the
airport, its beach access, inexpensive airfares from nearby Australia, along
with the villagers' ability to respond to tourists' basic needs, allowed it to
unintentionally develop into a tourist mecca. By looking at the numbers, it is
evident how tourism exploded in such a short period of time.
