Bali Tourism

Arthur Asa Berger

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• eBook ISBN:
  9781134622320
• Topic: Personal Development
• Subtopic: Hospitality, Travel & Tourism Industry

The island of Bali has long been characterized in the West as the last "paradise" on earth, but there is far more to this small Indonesian province. Bali Tourism presents an enlightening ethnographic study of some of the most important icons—for tourists and locals alike—in Balinese culture and society and explores the growth of this island as an "exotic" vacation destination. In addition, it offers a firsthand look at many aspects of daily life, a semiotic analysis of its dominant cultural symbols, and insights into tourists' perceptions of Bali. A thirty page photo section offers a unique glimpse at this remarkable island.

Through a distinctive use of cultural analysis and psychoanalytic modes of interpretation, Bali Tourism offers an in-depth study of Balinese tourism, society, and character. This handy, easy-to-read text is an essential overview of what the island has to offer tourists and looks at the exciting possibilities—and the potential pitfalls—of visiting this extraordinary land. The book paints a vivid portrait of this country's hidden gems and popular tourist destinations, exploring the ways visitors see Bali—and how the Balinese see visitors—as well as the promise and problems Bali faces in developing its tourism industry.

Bali Tourism is an ideal book to read before visiting Bali yourself—or recommending/planning a trip for others. The fresh insights it presents will help make any trip to the region more rewarding for the traveler. It is also a unique scholarly resource, complete with informative tables, references, and a bibliography, for academics and students at all levels of tourism studies.

PART I: TOURISM IN BALI

Chapter 1

The Image of Bali in Guidebooks

In this chapter, to show how guidebooks to Bali characterize the island, I will quote the first paragraph in the book from a selection of guidebooks on Bali I've collected. It will give you an idea of how the writers of these books wanted their readers to see Bali. Then I will compare these descriptions of Bali with some material from scholarly books on Bali tourism, to show how they differ in terms of their concerns.

BALI HANDBOOK, 2ND EDITION

Bill Dalton, the author of this book, points out that Bali is part of Indonesia, and offers a rather dark image of the island. He writes:

This tiny island of nearly three million Hindus, surrounded by a sea of 190 million Muslims, is one of the smallest yet most visited of Indonesia's many islands. More than 500,000 visitors arrive each year on this beautiful isle that exactly fits the Western definition of a tropical paradise, famous for its charming people, lovely scenery, and the sophisticated artistry of its distinctly Indonesian-Hindu civilization. Earlier versions of this Hindu culture once flourished over large areas of Java and portions of other islands, but it's now found almost exclusively on Bali. Today Bali is less a western Pacific paradise than an Asian hot-box—overpopulated, overdeveloped, underfed, and prone to eruptions both volcanic and political. (Dalton, 1997: 1)

Dalton published his book in 1997, five years before the terrible bombing in Kuta Beach in Bali, but his words indicate the volatile nature of the island and describe the many problems the island faces—problems that have been exacerbated by the increase in tourism in Bali in recent years. He dismisses the notion that Bali is a tropical paradise, which, he points out, is a Western perspective, and uses the metaphor of Bali as a hotbox to characterize the island.

One might say that Dalton's view of Bali helps us understand, to some degree, why the bombing took place. Dalton's Bali Handbook is probably the most complete, most detailed, and most honest view of Bali. It is more than 700 pages long, with double columns and numerous boxes, illustrations, and charts. When Dalton wrote his book, 500,000 people visited Bali each year. Since then the number of tourists increased, on average, to 1.5 million visitors per year. The bombing in Kuta in October 12, 2002, devastated the tourism industry in Bali and it has struggled, since then, to attract visitors.

INSIGHT'S POCKET GUIDES: BALI

The first paragraph of this book, published in Singapore by APA Publications, reads as follows:

Welcome.

Both magical and mythical, this land of volcanic lakes, spectacular rice terraces and ancient temples and palaces is a melting cauldron of cultures and peoples. Renowned for its unsurpassed architecture, traditional theatre and dance, and elaborate religious festivals, the evocative Balinese culture is a lively dynamic force that is constantly synthesizing the old and the new, the traditional and the innovative. You may be surprised by Bali's modernness, but you'll be equally intrigued by the medievalism of its culture—an isolated civilization still experiencing its golden age. (Wijaya, 1998: 5)

This introduction to Bali, written by Made Wrjaya, an Australian who has lived in Bali for a number of years (and who changed his name to a Balinese one) raises a number of issues that have preoccupied tourism scholars over the years. Wrjaya mentions that Bali has been “constantly synthesizing” its culture and has become Westernized, to a considerable extent. Yet, he argues, that it also maintains elements of its ancient culture, which tourists can enjoy. Scholars continue to debate the impact of the West on Bali and the degree to which the Balinese have modified certain aspects of their culture to suit the needs of its tourism industry. That is, do we find anything that is truly “authentic” in Bali, or is it a synthetic and artificial culture, designed for tourists? I will have more to say on this matter later in the book.

BALI: INDONESIA

This book, which appeared in 1999 and was published in Singapore, deals with the “magic” of Bali and its exceptionalism. The first paragraph reads as follows:

Even today, there is a certain magic about Bali. The longer one stays on the island, the more one is impressed by the many exquisite sights and the scores of talented and charming people one encounters. All the tourist hype aside, Bali truly is exceptional. (Oey, 1999: 17)

The author then goes on, in the second paragraph, to mention a topic that most guidebooks to Bali deal with—the notion that it is both an ancient and traditional society, one characterized by its cultural continuity and that is “alive and vital,” but also one that has accepted “new and innovative elements, whether home grown or foreign.” (Oey, 1999: 17).

THE ROUGH GUIDE TO BALI & LOMBOK, 4TH EDITION

I will skip some material in the first two paragraphs of this book because it doesn't deal with Bali, per se, but with Bali and Lombok. The first paragraph that deals with Bali, in actuality the third paragraph on the page, reads as follows:

The tiny island of Bali (population three million) draws in more than one and a half million foreign visitors every year, plus around a million domestic tourists. As a result, it has become very much a mainstream destination, offering all the comforts and facilities expected by better-off tourists, and suffering the predictable problems of congestion, commercialization and breakneck Westernization. However, its original charm is still very much in evidence, its stunning temples and spectacular festivals set off by the gorgeously lush landscape of the interior. (Reader and Ridout, 2002: v).

What we find in this passage is a muted ambivalence about visiting Bali: the authors mention the problems tourism causes everywhere and, at the same time, offer a rather glowing image of Bali's delights. Tourism has led to an upgrading of the hotels and infrastructure, but also to problems. However, the discriminating tourist, we are led to believe, will still find Bali's charm in tact and still be able to have wonderful experiences in Bali.

CONCLUSIONS

What do we learn about Bali from these four paragraphs? They have certain concerns in common. First, they mention that Bali is “tiny,” which suggests that it is also fragile and implies that it is perhaps weak and unable to cope with the pressures brought on by the development of tourism in the island. We have a small population, of three million Hindus living in Bali, surrounded by a huge Muslim population, in Indonesia, of some 190 million people. In addition, a number of the authors mention the matter of the way the people of Bali have adapted, if that's the right word, to modernization and the pressures of tourism. The Balinese people, it is suggested, have managed to hold on to their ancient ways, though perhaps in modified forms, and have created a fascinating blended culture that combines ancient practices and modern ways of living.

We find the word “charm” being used to describe the Balinese people and the island itself. The people of Bali, with their distinctive “theatrical” or “ceremonial” culture, are held to be welcoming and kindly. It is only Bill Dalton, with his metaphor of Bali as a “hotbox,” who suggests that beneath the calm surface of life in Bali, for the people there and the tourists who visit the place, dark and surging forces are at work. We are left with two conflicting images of Bali, expressed in two different metaphors: Bali is a tropical paradise and Bali is a hotbox. The answer may be that Bali is both.

It is important, also, to realize that writers of tour guides have a vested interest in “selling” the country they are writing about. So superlatives can be used rather loosely. Some of the adjectives used to describe Bali and its people follow: beautiful, lively, charming, dynamic, magical, and mystical. But at the same time the writers of these books—in their very first paragraphs—do raise issues and some “red flags” that give their readers an honest and fairly accurate appraisal of what they can expect to find when they travel to Bali.

In his essay, “Creating a New Version of Paradise,” Michael Picard points out that many people in the West see Bali as “paradise,” with inhabitants of the island blessed with remarkable artistic abilities. These notions are connected, Picard argues, to romantic notions people in the west have about Bali, which, we must recognize, have been developed by the Indonesian government as a tourist destination. (Oey, 1999)

Chapter 2

Bali on the Internet

In this chapter I will deal with the way Bali is characterized on the Internet, starting with what happens when you type “Bali” on Google.

BALI GOOGLED

If you type “Bali” on Google, your first page informs you that there are millions of sites that have something about Bali in them. On August 13, 2007, when I typed “Bali” in Google, I found 37,700,000 links to Bali. The Web links to Bali on the first page which were:

1. Bali.com: The Best of Bali
2. Bali: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
3. Bali...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• About the Author
• Foreword
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction Imagining Bali
• Part I Tourism in Bali
• Part II Semiotic Bali
• Bibliography
• Index