Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
businesses prefer to employ non-Balinese rather than cope with Balinese staff needing to take
time off to attend religious ceremonies.
However, as families grow many people in Bali can no longer earn a living from agriculture;
the tourist sector offers opportunities at all levels, and Bali is now an exporter of skilled
staff for the hospitality industry. Commentators have noted that the increased wealth of the
Balinese is very often spent in highly traditional ways - in particular, on elaborate religious
ceremonies.
Environmental concerns
Tourism also generates major
environmental concerns
. It is estimated that ten square kilo-
metres of agricultural land are lost to tourist development every year. Rice cultivation, so
prevalent in Bali, depends heavily on water; one five-star hotel room is estimated to consume
500 litres of water each day. Recent fears relate to the Balinese water table being polluted by
saltwater due to over-use and uncontrolled development.
Particular concerns have arisen about the effects of tourist developments on the island's
cor-
al reefs
. Global awareness of the environmental problems of
golf courses
is also growing and
with thousands of new
vehicles
heading out onto the Balinese roads each month problems of
noise and air pollution are increasingly apparent. The
rubbish
problem is visible for every
visitor to see, though the provincial government instituted plans to make the island “plastic
free”.
In general, Balinese objections to tourist developments have failed to halt plans.
RESPONSIBLE TOURISM ORGANIZATIONS
Many organizations are working to raise awareness of the impact of tourism throughout the
world and to encourage responsible travelling.
Ethical Traveler
ethicaltraveler.org
Indonesian Ecotourism Network
www.indecon.or.id
Responsible Travel
responsible-travel.org
Tourism Concern
tourismconcern.org.uk
Social changes
Social change has inevitably followed the influx of tourism. Michel Picard, author of
Bali:
Cultural Tourism and Touristic Culture
, suggests Bali has now become a “
touristic culture
”
whereby the Balinese have adopted the tourists' perceptions of themselves and their island as
their own, and have “come to search for confirmation of their 'Balinese-ness' in the mirror
held to them by the tourists”.
