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Spiritual tourism potential in Bali not fully tapped
Ni Komang Erviani , THE JAKARTA POST , KLUNGKUNG,BALI | Sun, 03/08/2009 9:18 AM | Headlines
Bali has been billed as one of the world’s top spiritual tourism destinations, but its potential has yet to be fully tapped, a seminar heard Saturday.
Wayan Wijayasa, an industry observer from the Denpasar Tourism Academy, said the fact was, spiritual tourism was already blooming in Bali.
“A simple example is the fact there are more and more hotels offering yoga classes. More and more tourists are coming to Bali to deepen their spirituality, although we do not have the detailed figures yet,” he said.
Wijayasa, who has a master’s degree in tourism focusing on yoga, was speaking at the seminar being held at the Ashram Gandhi Puri Sevagram in Klungkung. The seminar was part of the ongoing International Bali-India Yoga Festival, which runs until Tuesday.
He said the untapped potential to develop such tourism came mainly from Western countries, whose citizens were keen to learn Eastern philosophy, especially yoga. Citing from a study conducted by US researcher Hodge, he said there were 16.5 million adults in the United States alone who practiced yoga.
“If only 1 percent of that figure visited Bali for spiritual tourism, then there would be at least 160,000 yoga tourists to Bali in a year,” Wijayasa said.
The study also found Americans spent a total of US$2.95 billion on buying yoga equipment, including mattresses, and classes.
“If Bali was more creative, we could become the main supplier for such equipment,” Wijayasa said.
Based on his own study in 2007, Wijayasa found there were 14 hotels in Ubud, Bangli regency, that offered yoga classes.
Wijayasa was upbeat that Bali could benefit greatly from spiritual tourism, especially considering the island also boasted beautiful natural scenery such as beaches and mountains, thus adding to the strong spiritual vibrations.
Also speaking at the seminar was Ketut Narya, head of research and development at the Bali Tourism Agency, and Indra Udayana, head of the Ashram Gandhi Puri Sevagram.
Despite the huge potential, Narya admitted the provincial administration had yet to draw up a clear concept on how to develop spiritual tourism in the island province.
“The development of spiritual tourism has been done by practitioners, while the provincial administration has yet to devise a development concept,” he said.
“Nevertheless, the administration strongly supports efforts to develop spiritual tourism in Bali.”
“We will soon devise a concept to develop spiritual tourism as a way to enhance, enrich and broaden the tourism products we already have.”
Narya added spiritual tourism was in line with the cultural tourism concept, regulated under Bylaw No. 3/1991 on Cultural Tourism.
“We are also expecting spiritual tourism to help extend visitors’ length of stay, which in turn will bring higher spending,” he said.
The agency recorded that in 2008, the average length of stay in Bali was 10.6 days.
Indra added there was such a high potential for spiritual tourism here, and cited his own facility. Ashram Gandhi Puri Sevagram has five bedrooms, with visitors staying an average of two weeks.
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10/10/2009 11/30/2009 Alila Ubud Desa Melinggih Kelod Payangan, Gianyar 80572, Bali - Timeless Change
11/05/2009 12/07/2009 Ganesha Gallery, Four Seasons Hotel Jimbaran, Bali. - Choreography of Colours; Sardono W. Kusumo's first solo painting exhibition
11/12/2009 12/12/2009 vivi yip art room Annexe Ciputra World Marketing Gallery Jalan Prof Satrio Kav 11, Casablanca
Tom Pa (not verified) — Fri, 03/13/2009 - 9:00pm
There are many reasons why Bali is the 'center of Indonesia' and i'm sure it will continue to be like this however much money and effort is invested in trying to promote other islands. Bali is simply so unique and rich in it's cultural, artistic and spiritual heritage and have been able to successfully adapt and continue to adapt to attract visitors and expats. Trying to 'copy' that is not something done over a few years or perhaps even decades, especially if the 'other islands' do not have the richness and heritage that Bali possesses. Bali is not a 'made up' concept. It is what it is, doesn't pretend to be something else and promotes it. That's why Bali is the untouchable center of attention in Indonesia if you ask me. If some people don't like it.. well tough luck! Jealousy isn't gonna bring them anywhere.
Johnny Cool (not verified) — Mon, 03/09/2009 - 7:30pm
Endless and often misguided attempts to chase more tourism dollars for Bali have contributed to the mess the island is in. A powerful case can be made that "tourism potential" has already been over-tapped. Sooner or later, tourist destinations reach a saturation point, when enough is more than enough.
Failure to understand and appreciate this leads to two inevitable outcomes. Over-commercialization, which makes the island less attractive to tourists for the very reasons many contemplate coming here in the first place and a rapid degradation of local culture. In the most populated areas of Bali, both of these effects can be clearly seen.
It may well be time for those who have power to affect the future of Bali to consider putting the brakes on before it really is too late. Right now, Bali is very densely populated, highly polluted in many areas, faces difficulty with its water supply and shrinking water tables and has a less than efficient electricity supply from Java. That's just for starters. Add a couple of million tourists a year to the equation and it's not hard to see the path of destruction it seems to have set for itself.
Adding even more stress to the system, such as so-called "Spiritual Tourism", will only make matters worse. I believe it's time for Bali to back-pedal a bit, not go fast-forward into some version of oblivion.
Notions of "good spiritual vibrations" on Bali are somewhat laughable. Yes, there may well be some. However, there is a physical limit to how much a small island can be raped and abused without dire consequences. Yoga courses might put money in some peoples' pockets, but will have very little impact on the bigger picture.
Cm (not verified) — Sun, 03/08/2009 - 10:05am
Indonesia must stop this bali-centric attitude to their tourism industry. Just in case it hasn't been noticed there are a few thousand islands through out this arhipelago that have the potential to attract tourists.
Bali Bali Bali, it is becoming a bit of a joke really. Oh yeah and watch out for the rabid dogs if you are holidaying down that way.