Bali Tourism News

Regency to develop East Buleleng into tourism area

February 20th, 2009

Ni Komang Erviani ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Buleleng

The Buleleng administration will upgrade the status of the eastern part of the regency into a tourism area (KW) in the hope of attracting more visitors to the impoverished coastal region and helping increase the regency’s revenue, a senior official said recently.

“If we could develop it into a KW, there would be several positive changes, such as an increase in lodging fares, an rise in lodging status from non-starred to starred facilities, and, more importantly, an improvement in the quality of services offered to visitors,” said I.B. Puja Erawan, Buleleng Tourism Agency head.
East Buleleng is currently a designated tourism object and attraction area (ODTW). Bali’s provincial zoning bylaw No. 3/2005 lists several restrictions for ODTW, including in lodging capacity. Any hotel built within ODTW may only have up to 25 rooms.

But with an upgraded status of KW, the area will be allowed greater freedom in developing tourist facilities. A KW is allowed to have starred hotels, with no limitation on the number of rooms available.

Erawan hinted that developing East Buleleng into a KW would not be a difficult task.

“We have received many inquiries from potential investors who want to participate in developing East Buleleng into a tourism area,” he said.

The upgraded status, he went on, would bring more visitors to the area, which has risen in popularity in recent years, eclipsing even Lovina, the regency’s most popular tourist destination.

East Buleleng comprises Kubutambahan and Tejakula districts. The area boasts pristine beaches, scenic coastlines and virgin waterfalls.

“It has strong potential to be developed as an agro-tourism destination, as well as a spiritual tourism destination, due to the presence of several ancient Hindu temples, including Meduwe Karang Temple with its unique reliefs and architecture,” Erawan said.

At present, East Buleleng has around 70 villas and scores of hotels and homestays, reflecting the increasing number of visiting tourists.

Bali Tourism Agency head I Gde Nurjaya confirmed the plan to upgrade the region’s status into KW had been received by the provincial administration and was currently being deliberated.

“The plan will be integrated into the revised version of the zoning bylaw,” he said.

However, the plan met with sharp rejection from Bali Tourism Board (BTB) head I.B. Ngurah Wijaya, who called on local administrations to pay more attention to improving tourism objects and attractions, rather than aiming at establishing tourism areas.

“The administration should also take into consideration the island’s *visitor* capacity,” he said.

“They shouldn’t compete on getting the most PHR *hotel and restaurant tax*.”

Buleleng regency currently has 3,000 available rooms, a large number of them in hotels and lodgings in Lovina. In 2008, the regency welcomed 350,000 overseas visitors, and the tourism industry generated Rp 4 billion from hotel and restaurant taxes.

There are 15 designated tourism areas in Bali, including Lovina in Central Buleleng and Batu Ampar in West Buleleng.

Source: The Jakarta Post

Entry Filed under: Bali Tourism News