Lack of Plan, Lack of Direction

(8/5/2012)

In the absence of a Master Plan for Bali Tourism, the chairman of the Bali Chapter of the Indonesian Association on Tourism (GIPI), IB Ngurah Wijaya is urging the government to issue at least a temporary moratorium on new accommodation projects.

As reported by Bisnis Bali, Wijaya said the moratorium on new hotel projects issued by governor Pastika in 2011 was done at the bequest of various tourism stakeholders via GIPI. GIPI is again seeking that the moratorium be accepted by all parties as a temporary measure.

Wijaya explained that while a moratorium is in effect the government could use that interlude to survey and evaluate the actual demand for accommodation in Bali based on both domestic and international arrival figures. At the same time, officials could carefully assess the carrying capacity of the island.

It is GIPI’s view, said Wijaya, that Bali has neither a comprehensive study examining the carrying capacity of the island nor a master plan for tourism.

GIPI is renewing its call on the provincial government of Bali to create a master plan for Bali including specific plans for the tourism sector. Such a plan, GIPI contends, must address public facilities and all the infrastructure issues including water, electricity, roadways and waste disposal.

GIPI repeated its recommendation that they be included in any review process for those seeking to establish new accommodations projects in Bali.