This is causing consternation in West Flores, the natural home of this prehistoric creature and I can understand why: it is the islands’ key tourist draw card. I am wondering whether there might be a better solution: balancing conservation with the needs of the local population. Surely there is scope here for a sustainable tourism project.

Read Komodo Dragons as Stay-at-Home Celebrities

Pura Tirta Empul, the Temple of the Holy Water, Bali

There are two great articles in this week’s Bali Discovery Bali Update which pick up on my theme of sustainable tourism.

The first piece, Bali: Choose Tradition Before Innovation, is a free translation of an article written by Professor Dr. Ir. Wayan Windia, M.S., a member of the agricultural faculty of Bali’s Udayana University, that first appeared in the Bali Post. Titled “Let’s Destroy Bali?”

In case you don’t have time to read it, in summary, he is arguing ironically that rather than trying to protect Balinese tradition why not save time by destroying the island now.

“In Bali, if our surviving principles needed to protect Bali’s culture and founded on idealism are changed only out of pragmatic considerations (to protect the interests of investors), then Bali is already sitting precariously on the precipice of its own destruction.

But, then again, if everyone’s in agreement, let’s all heave-ho and destroy Bali. Let’s not keep the investors and migrants waiting; just get it over with and demolish the island. In this way we can at least end the interminable debate about standing up for Bali.”

And then almost as if in support of this discourse, in the other article Tourism as Villain in Bali’s Environmental Degradation Bali Discovery reports that:

the Executive Director of the Environmental Watchdog Group WALHI, Agung Wardana, has blamed tourism as the main cause of Bali’s deteriorating environmental quality. Quoted in BisnisBali, Wardana said: “the most obvious problem is water. Water in Bali is chiefly consumed by tourism, creating a conflict between the tourism industry and the Balinese people.”

Clarifying his concerns, Wardana explained that each hotel room in Bali represents the consumption of 3,000 liters of water each day and each golf course demands three million liters of water a day. This contrasts sharply with the mere 200 liters of water a day used by the average Balinese.

Wardana added: “The current tourism policy must be re-evaluated. If the same system of growing tourism is allowed to continue, the impact will be widespread. Thus, we have to find a new development model.”

I suppose I am an idealist: my perception of Bali is of an artistic and gentle place where the locals lead a spiritual lifestyle. I think it’s great that planning regulations put a limit on the height of buildings and that the Governor of Bali wants to see an airport that emphasises Balinese architecture and which puts the community first. I do believe Balinese tradition should be protected. Yet I can argue too that tourism can bring benefits to more remote communities.

So is it possible to find a balance between the benefits of tourism and the pressures that it puts on both the infrastructure and the fabric of the host community? Is it inevitable that if we visit Bali, ultimately we destroy it? I shall keep my idealist’s hat on and say “Yes, it is possible to find a balance”; but what do you think?

Photo source: thebigdurian (Creative Commons)

Balinese Temple (From Wikipedia)

I was reading on a forum recently that Bali is great for its nightclub scene! There was an implication that you would go there for no other reason. Well anyone who really knows Bali would know that is very far from the truth.

Yes, there is a blott on the landscape, called Kuta, which is full of bars and clubs but that is it. Go anywhere else on the island and you will discover the essence of Bali. You can walk down any street (actually that includes Kuta) and find someone has left a small, scented offering on the pavement. This is just one obvious sign of Bali’s majority religion, Hinduism.

You will not need to walk down many more streets before you come across a religious festival: there is probably a festival happening almost every day of the year somewhere on the island. And if there isn’t a festival, there will like as not be a funeral.

Funerals are not as we in the west traditionally know them: they are very much a celebration of a life (something we are starting to emulate) and a public affair.

I have attended two funerals in Bali. The first was for a family member of a colleague and the second we happened upon during a sightseeing tour of the island. Yes, you cannot imagine gate-crashing a funeral at home but in Bali it is quite normal: on both occasions we were spontaneously invited to join the mourners. There were hundreds of people everywhere, all dressed in traditional garb, with flower garlands adorning the scene.

No matter what a person’s beliefs I feel certain that most anyone will be touched by the deep spirituality that seems to pervade the island and its people. A spirituality which manifests in the both the natural beauty of the landscape and in the artistry of many Balinese: their skill with wood, stone and canvas is legendary.

It came as no surprise to me then to read recently this piece in The Jakarta Post, “Bali urges revision of airport plan”. It starts:

“Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika has strongly refused the proposed extension design for Ngurah Rai International Airport, saying it focuses only on commercial sites and lacks the Balinese architectural style.” And goes on to say “Governor Pastika was against the company’s plan to build a shopping mall within the airport area” and emphasises the need for improved public services.

I find this typical of the way many Balinese think: they put tradition, Balinese style and community before all other considerations. There are some aberrations on the island but I think many Balinese would recognise these as mistakes. Unlike much of the rest of the world I believe the Balinese generally recognise their mistakes and learn from them. One of the fundamental truths of the Balinese belief system is balance: where there is imbalance there is discord. There must be a balance between the modern world and the traditional. And that is what makes Bali so special for me.

What is it about Bali that you find special?

I was interested to see though that in Bali, a destination that has been suffering from low tourist numbers mainly as a result of negative Travel Advisories like this one from the Australian Government, RevPAR actually rose 17.5%; and this during a low-season month. At the other extreme Singapore dropped 30%.

No doubt there will be many intense discussions taking place in Berlin this week when representatives from the world’s travel and tourism industry meet at ITB.

By their nature those that work in the industry are an optimistic lot and, whereas there will be some wringing of hands, they will apply their collective brain power to find a way of moving forward. ‘Down but not out’ will be the mood.

For example, Accor Hotels announced last week the development of 4 more hotels in Thailand: 3 in Bangkok and one on the island of Samui. I appreciate these deals might have been set before the crunch started to bite but I still see it as a positive move.

Incidentally I do realise that this blog is beginning to read like a spin-off from Accor Hotels press department but it is entirely coincidental: they happen to be pushing out a lot of positive news at the moment. And that I think is a good thing. In my opinion there is too much talking down of our economies. We know it’s bad but let’s keep looking for the good bits and eventually we will spot a few green shoots.

Many of us might be down but we are most definitely not out!

In the UK we are now very used to spotting bargains and we like to think we know how to play the game. As ever it is he or she who can hold their nerve the longest will (usually) win. If you are totally flexible about when and where you travel and you can wait, generally speaking, you will probably (but not certainly) pick up the best deal. Although with reduced supply (of air seats if not hotel rooms) you also need to understand the patterns of demand.

For example I would wait longer for a flight bargain for travel in say May than I would in late July/early August. May is a low-season month in most of Asia while the summer school holidays, in my opinion, will still see a peak in traveller numbers despite the economic challenges.

My comments above were peppered with caution because there is still an element of chance involved in this game: there are many factors to consider. Here are some:

• Seasonality. A quiet month in one destination (say Phuket) is a busy month in another (say Bali).
• There will be a limit to how low a hotel will go with its rates (particularly at the upper end) because they know they will have a struggle getting them back up again later.
• Domestic travel is being encouraged and could take up some slack (particularly during local holiday periods e.g. mid April in Thailand and Cambodia).
• There are other opportunistic travellers around playing the same game.

Like the article above concluded do your homework and be ready to strike.

My philosophy is if the price is right for you, take your pick and remember when opportunity knocks you have to decide, Deal or No Deal?