The New Face Of Bali Tourism?

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The New Face Of Bali Tourism?

Time and again the tourism sector seems to miss the point when there is any kind of catastrophe, be it the tsunami or an insurgent attack. When we talk about tracking down the terrorists we naively, or unthinkingly, refuse to look at the facts behind the facts.

Insurgent attacks from non-state actors like the Al Qaeda are not going to stop with a higher dose of militarism or security arrangements. Take Iraq. A huge US army contingent can do, and has done, very little to alter things. It seems unlikely that, in the near future, there will be real peace. The best peace that Iraq can ever hope to get is the peace of the graveyard. You can hardly call that peace. Meanwhile, Iraq as a fascinating tourism destination is as good as non-existent. I see no tears being shed over that fact.

But, I'm digressing. The problem with Bali is that it was designed to be a tourism destination and nothing else. Twenty years ago, it was a somewhat different story- the Balinese economy was varied, and survived on multiple sectors. The World Bank and the IMF in their anxiety to open up spaces for the multinationals interested in quick profits, got Suharto to open up the Balinese coasts to tourism in a way by which the sectoral balance got completely lost. Suddenly, those in the agricultural sector found themselves needing to meet tourism needs, if only to survive.

They gave up their traditional skills and ways of life to cater to the fancies of the tourist class who came in droves to these incredibly beautiful islands while, all along, retaining their (largely) western styles- the disco etc.
So, the first act of violence in Bali tourism was the colonial and racist intervention- tourism that made the host into a commodity, their natural spaces into museums for pleasure, their beaches for nude/semi-nude displays in violation of long-standing cultural taboos. Then came the second part of the violence-the pattern of globalization itself. Huge investments from overseas- much of it lined the pockets of Suharto and his cohorts (crony capitalism and all that)- and well over 60% of the profits went back to the investors home country. Tax holidays, right to repatriate profits, the compulsion to buy goods from overseas, all meant that money never stayed in Bali really- the greatest beneficiary was not the Balinese people. Certainly the investor and their rich collaborator in Indonesia.
So, you ask yourself: What solution? And it stares you in the face. Bali must stop depending on the tourist- they are fair weather friends and no more. Besides, tourists are usually westerners- the people with whom Al Qaeda’s rank and file are dissatisfied. They want the west to live in fear of them. Not because they don't know what better to do. But, because the west has occupied Iraq, it threatens Syria, it has dislocated Afghans. Nevermind all the excuses about saving Afghanistan, besides, greed for oil is not called liberation. And Palestine has been occupied for ever with no end in sight, and there is a western hand in all that. Now, there is the bullying of Iran just to be sure that no country can stand up to the might of the west.

Everyone in their right mind wants to see the cycle of violence end. Except the armament industry to who war matters and must continue to be waged- just about anywhere. The tourism sector must first learn to work with a few elementary rules. As a sector that makes possible the meeting of people, tourism must begin to forge ways of enabling all people to travel- global economic justice. Secondly, the tourism sector cannot reap the benefits of globalization- an inherently unequal economic system- which hands over riches and luxuries to one small sector of people- including leisure in the form of tourist adventures, without accepting a meaningful sense of social responsibility. Thirdly, the tourism sector cannot stay silent at the global injustices of our world. For example, a central issue of peace and injustice in our world is the 'Question of Palestine'. Leave that unresolved, and peace will not come soon. There is an urgent need to partake in building up processes towards a just and lasting settlement to this vexed question.

These are demanding goals. But they must not be dismissed as pipe dreams, or the empty slogans of dreamers!

By Ranjan Solomon

Ranjan Solomon is the executive director of Ecumenical Coalition on Tourism (ECOT). He may be reached via email at ranjan@ecotonline.org