W

asti Atmodjo

The Jakarta Post/Denpasar

Tourist industry players have expressed concern over the planned development of Benoa Bay as a massive tourist accommodation and entertainment site.

Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati, chairman of Bali chapter of the Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants Association (PHRI), argued that tourists came to Bali for culture and nature, not entertainment.

Sukawati, known also as Cok Ace, the leader of Puri Ubud royal
family, said that the huge reclamation project at Benoa Bay would not only have a negative impact on the environment but also on the island'€™s sociocultural life. '€œThe planned land reclamation of Benoa Bay intends to replicate tourist facilities in neighboring countries,'€ he complained.

Previous reports revealed that four major investors were currently proposing developments at Benoa Bay to include construction of luxury hotels, a Formula 1 racing circuit, a Disney-like theme park and tourist accommodation.

Cok Ace said he was strongly opposed to any plan to reclaim land in certain areas of the island.

'€œWe had a bad experience with land reclamation off Serangan Island in the early 1990s. The reclamation affected sea currents in other locations and also caused serious abrasion in some coastal areas, including Gianyar'€™s beaches,'€ he elaborated.

Cok Ace, who is also chairman of the newly established Bali Tourism Promotion Board, suggested that the provincial administration and every tourism stakeholder conserve and preserve the island'€™s culture and nature instead of building '€œartificial entertainment and tourist facilities.'€

Cok Ace also questioned the feasibility studies done by the investors and the provincial administration'€™s response to the proposals.

'€œHow can they propose such a huge project in the already crowded south? The government should know that development of any tourist facility must be directed to areas outside south Bali,'€ he said.

Governor Made Mangku Pastika had, in fact, launched a moratorium on the development of hotels and tourist accommodation in Badung and Gianyar regencies and Denpasar municipality. However, the regents and mayor ignored this policy.

In a recent report, Pastika also suggested that the planned land reclamation project was better than building facilities on productive and fertile land.

'€œDon'€™t be too negative over any tourist development plan. Not so long ago, the people of Jakarta rejected the idea of building the Taman Mini Indonesia Indah park, now the facility is one of the city'€™s icons,'€ Pastika said recently.

According to data from the Bali Tourism Agency, the number of hotels and tourist accommodation facilities in Bali exceeded demand. There were 161 star-rated hotels with 20,753 rooms; 1,026 non-starred hotels with 20,199 rooms and 1,016 home stays with 4,478 rooms.