When does paradise become purgatory?
US President Barack Obama’s expected visit this year to the resort island of Bali raises an issue many destinations would like to face: an abundance of tourists. Does the island nation have too many of them?
“Yes, say officials who are planning a second airport and opening more direct flights from Hong Kong to cash in on China's expanding middle class, as more and more holiday accommodation is developed,” Reuters says.
Time magazine recently ran an article titled Holidays in Hell: Bali's onging woes.
Tourism industry chiefs say Obama's reported visit will help relieve US anxieties about security on Bali, which was hit by deadly terror bombings in 2002 and 2005 that targeted Western tourists.
The attacks killed more than 200 people. The United States and other countries issued travel warnings to the destination. Tourism numbers fell.
But the president’s visit is expected with widespread publicity is expected to again raise interest in Bali as a tourist destination.
Preparations are already under way to make sure the "island of the gods" looks at its best for a leaders’ summit, which is also expected to be attended by Chinese President Hu Jintao.
The movie, “Eat, Pray, Love,” set partly in Bali, has also raised visitor interest in the island as an idyllic retreat from the world.
But Reuters reports problems such as of water shortages, crime, pollution and outbreaks of rabies and legionnaires' disease.
Government officials say there could be traffic gridlock in just five years.
Even without tourists, the island has too many people. It has a population of four million while experts say it should only be home to 1.5 million.
Four million now call Bali home, while officials say it can realistically hold only 1.5 million.
Governor Made Mangku Pastika conceded Time Magazine was right.
"What are we supposed to do if the facts are undeniably like that?" he told reporters.
To slow development, Pastika has imposed a moratorium on new hotels in parts of the south where most of the island's 50,000 rooms are concentrated.
By David Wilkening
David
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