The Tourism Boom

Bali's tourism began in the 1920s and 1930s when European artists and intellectuals "discovered" the island. The German painter Walter Spies, the Mexican artist Miguel Covarrubias, and the Canadian musician Colin McPhee created with their works a romantic image of Bali as the "last paradise" — an image that persists to this day.

Mass tourism began with the opening of the Grand Bali Beach Hotel in Sanur in 1966 and the completion of the international airport in 1969. The Indonesian government under Suharto deliberately planned Bali as a tourism enclave — the SCETO master plan of 1971 (created by the World Bank) stipulated that tourism should be concentrated in the area around Nusa Dua and Kuta to "protect" the rest of the island.

Reality overwhelmed the plan: From 30,000 tourists in 1970, numbers rose to 1 million (1997), 3.5 million (2015), and over 6 million (2019). Kuta, Seminyak, Canggu, and Ubud transformed into tourist centers. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 brought tourism to a standstill and mercilessly exposed Bali's extreme dependence on foreign visitors.

The Bali bombings of October 12, 2002 (202 dead, including 88 Australians) and 2005 (20 dead) were deep cuts. The attacks by Islamist terrorists in the bars of Kuta shook Bali's self-image as a peaceful island of the gods. The Bali Bombing Memorial on Jalan Legian commemorates the victims.

Today, Bali struggles to balance its economic dependence on tourism with the preservation of its unique culture and environment — a challenge that will define the 21st century.