Bali has been in the world's press recently for all the wrong reasons.

Serious issues around poor waste management, water scarcity and over-tourism were uncomfortably exposed in Fodor Travel Guide's latest list of places not to visit in 2020.

For some industry observers, the reaction from Bali's government was a little surprising as they urged visitors to post positive stories and images across social media platforms rather than take the more serious administrative and political steps needed to address these rather obvious problems.

Nusa Lembongan off Bali's east coast is gaining in popularity and attracting more investment. Image by Lrns on Unsplash.

Falling short of the mark

For the island's tourism industry this could not have happened at a worse time as projections for foreign visitor arrivals in 2019 look like they may not be realized.

Gapura Bali recently suggested this likely short fall was a complicated problem covering a number of factors including a dramatic decrease in the number of Chinese visitors, the ongoing US-China Trade war (and its global implications) and Bali's ongoing battle with trash, despite banning single use plastic at the start of 2019.

In need of a masterplan

While the idea of "Quality over Quantity" is often used by local tourism industry stakeholders, knee-jerk efforts to attract more visitors to make up for falling numbers appears to contradict the concept.

The appointment of Wishnutama Kusubandio as the new Tourism and Creative Economy Minister however, may be just what Bali needs to get back on track.

Classic Balinese sunsets, like this from The Lawn in Canggu, attract plenty of tourists. But at what cost? Image by Cassie Gallegos on Unsplash.

Local news wires are reporting Wishnutama as saying Bali needs to develop and revitalize other parts of the island away from the south, which is being blamed for the majority of Bali's tourism woes, with a long-term master plan.

North coast development

According to Coconuts Bali, the Minister said "he will help coordinate matters with the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) and the Ministry of Transportation to ensure accessibility to northern, western and eastern Bali can be developed quickly."

The idea appears to have traction, which may be being fueled by plans to develop a new airport on the North coast.

New airport land

Seminyak Times reported in September the village of Kubutambahan, where the airport is apparently being developed, had "decided to hand over temple land in their area to help the construction of the international airport in North Bali."

The report went on to suggest the new toll road project connecting Buleleng on the North coast to Denpasar is "steaming ahead." And construction of the new stretches of road from Mengwitani and Tabanan in the South to Singaraja and Buleleng in the North are expected to be completed by December 2019.

Plans to develop Bali's North coast are underway. Image by Tiomax80 on Flickr.

Issues can't be ignored

Meanwhile, Tempo is reporting hotel investment projects were awarded to 19-Chinese businessmen who attended the Sunda Kecil Expo 2019 Forum in Kupang two weeks ago. The projects will apparently focus on East, West and North Bali and around 340-hectares of land has already been provided for the purpose.

Head of Promotion at the Bali Investment Agency, I Ketut Sudibya, told Antara News Ecotourism, Silent Tourism, Agritourism, Sports Tourism, Spiritual Tourism, and Retirement Tourism would be the focus of these investments.

How Bali's ongoing issues of infrastructure, water scarcity and waste are handled with any new projects, as well as how existing problems in the south of the island are resolved, remains to be seen.

Sources: Antara News, Tempo, Coconuts Bali, Gapura Bali, Seminyak Times, Tempo, Bali This Week, Republika

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