Bali Hotel Construction To Be Halted Amid Overtourism Concerns

The strain from overtourism in Bali is showing and local officials are considering even more measures to address the issue, including a moratorium on hotel building.

Indonesia’s Hermin Esti, a senior official at the Coordinating Ministry of Maritime and Investment Affairs, told Reuters the government had agreed to establish such a moratorium on the construction of new hotels, villas and nightclubs, according to Reuters.

The new restriction however, will only apply to specific areas on Bali that have been impacted by overdevelopment.

The move is part of a broader effort to reform tourism at the popular destination, while also improving the quality of tourism experiences and offerings and preserving the island’s culture.

Per Reuters, Bali’s interim governor Sang Made Mahendra Jaya has suggested the moratorium in four of Bali's busiest areas. Further details on which areas that may be have not been released.

In addition, the governor’s office and the tourism ministry did not respond to requests from Reuters for comment.

A specific timeline for implementation of the new moratorium has not yet been revealed. However, it has been revealed by a senior minister who was quoted on the news website Detik that the pause on building could last as long as 10 years.

The same government official revealed that about 200,000 foreigners now live in Bali and that this is contributing to some of the challenges plaguing the area including crime, overdevelopment, and competition for work.

Bali is not the first popular destination to grapple with overtourism. Since the end of the pandemic Barcelona, Venice and many other especially popular tourist haunts have introduced measures to try and cope with swelling crowds.

Bali has also introduced previous measures designed to ease overtourism, including a tourism tax. The tax is about $10 and is meant to dissuade visitors from acting up in the hopes they don’t want to lose even more money by being deported.

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