Words and photos Luh De Suriyani

During the early 1970s and 1980s, the seaside town of Candidasa in Karangasem, eastern Bali, was a quiet paradise far from the hustle and bustle of Kuta in the south.

Its pristine beach with lines of coconut trees was a perfect site for scuba diving and snorkeling and attracted tourists who preferred quiet leisure time rather than the bars and cafés filling Kuta and Sanur.

'€œNow, Candidasa is different from how it was portrayed 30 to 40 years ago. In my childhood, children used to play happily on the beach,'€ wrote Suwendra, a citizen journalist from Sengkidu village in Candidasa.

The beauty of Candidasa not only lured domestic and foreign tourists but also massive tourist-related investment. Dozens of resorts, hotels, villas and restaurants were built along the coast and the uncontrolled development caused massive erosion of Candidasa'€™s beach.

The sand vanished and Candidasa lost much of its appeal, leaving many businesses deserted.

However, a new study jointly conducted by Udayana University'€™s Faculty of Tourism alongside Conservation International (CI) revealed that foreign tourists had started to return to the quiet area because they found the people to be friendly and welcoming.

The study, entitled '€œThe Satisfaction Level: Expenses and Tourists'€™ Willingness and Ability to Pay for Conservation Initiatives in Padangbai and Candidasa'€, was launched in June 2015.

The study showed that in 2002, immediately after the Bali bombings, Candidasa was only able to attract 300 visitors during the whole year.

In 2013, the number of tourists had increased to 1,700, further doubling to 3,400 in 2014.

There were two crucial factors that encouraged visitors to pay for conservation initiatives: the cleanliness and quality of tourist accommodation and the natural landscape and tourist facilities, which were backed up by the local people'€™s welcoming and friendly attitude toward both domestic and foreign tourists.

The study showed visitors were willing to pay Rp 42,000 (US$3) in Padangbai and Rp 70,400 in Candidasa for conservation initiatives.

In addition to this study, numerous local and international institutions have presented recommendations to regional, provincial and central governments to include Candidasa and Padangbai in coral reef and coastal development conservation sites, while in 2011, researchers discovered a coral specific to Bali that they named Euphyllia Baliensis.

The average length of stay for most visitors was five days in Padangbai and seven days in Candidasa.

Serious traffic congestion, narrow streets, piles of garbage and limited access to beaches were the most common factors that stopped visitors from spending time in Candidasa, according to the study.

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