Small-scale homestays: North Bali’s new investment trend

The majority of new investors have proposed building small-scale and nature-friendly tourist accommodation, such as homestays, an official said.

Gede Gunawan, head of Buleleng Economic and Development Affairs Office, shared with Bali Daily on Friday that this was the new trend for investment projects in the regency.

In the past few years, most investors had wanted to build large-scale hotels, he said.

Until July, total investment in Buleleng had reached Rp 106 billion (US$11 million) coming from the tourist industry, property and trade sectors.

Buleleng regency in north Bali has abundant tourism potential. It has tremendous tourist attractions stretching from north to the east of the regency, including Menjangan Island, Lovina Beach, Pemuteran marine conservation and diving site, Singaraja heritage town and many others.

The regency is also famous for its coffee and cacao plantations, tropical fruit plantations and agro industry. Buleleng is renowned for its high quality mangoes and tropical grapes.

“However, investment in the agriculture sector remains very low,” Gunawan said.

He denied that Buleleng regional administration paid very little attention to developing its agriculture.

“Agricultural industries are long-term business endeavors. It will take years to develop high-yield plantations.”

On the other hand, investors may see tourism as an industry with good rates of return, in which its return on investment is quite predictable.

In the tourism sector, he said, most proposals contained plans to develop nature-based homestays, locally known as Pondok Wisata.