Rural tourism or Mass rural tourism!! A case on Bali

An exploration into how Rural Tourism has been affected by Mass tourism in Bali


Abstract: This paper looks in-depth into the difference between rural tourism and mass tourism, while looking into the effects that these forms of tourism have had on a tourist destination.


Keywords: Rural tourism, Mass tourism, Economy, environment


Rural tourism is environmentally responsible travel and visitation to relatively undisturbed natural areas. This form of tourism gives on the opportunity to enjoy and appreciate natural areas and nature, which has low visitor impacts and can provide future involvement to local populations Lane (1994) explains in depth rural tourism “it is not only farm-based tourism but also comprises special interest nature holiday and ecotourism, walking, climbing and riding holidays, adventure, sport and health tourism, hunting and angling, educational tourism, art and heritage tourism, and in some areas, ethnic tourism“. Rural tourism showcases the rural life to tourists who visit such areas, these form of showcases can include art, culture and heritage in rural locations

This can be a different story when rural tourism can be changed and developed into Mass tourism. Coccossis stated “the expansion of tourism has had a profound effect on many destination areas”. Mass tourism is a form of tourism that involves tens of thousands of people going to the same resort, mostly at the time of year. These sorts of holidays can be sold either as package deals or tailor made holidays to get you the cheapest deal. Coccossis argues “In some areas it has revitalizes local economies whilst in others it has destroyed them, traditions, cultures and social relations”. There are many different types of mass tourism these include, skiing, sunbathing on beach holidays, Visiting theme parks and Taking a cruise. Mass tourism in some cases can cause unsustainable problems within destinations due to the vast amounts of tourists travelling to that one destination.

Bali is based in the Pacific Ocean, Mountains and hills are decorated and surrounded with green forest and agricultural areas which functioned as natural water sources for all parts of Bali. This island has a tropical climate change which is why it is so appealing to tourists. Bali is a destination that attracts a variety of different tourists throughout the year for many different reasons, some choose to seek the traveller life style Bali has to offer, where others choose the beach holiday life style as Bali is known mainly for its white sandy beaches and crystal clear waters. SKWIRK (2014) explains “Tourism in Bali is a large industry and provides an income for many families and villages across the island. Bali is one Indonesian island that lacks natural resources, so tourism is vital to the island's economy”. Tourism within Bali has had an extensive history and dating as far back as 1597 however in recent years has shown a vast change in the number of tourists entering the country. SKWIRK (2014) explains “Mass tourism to the area has affected water resources, increased pollution, contributed to local flooding and has put pressure on the island's roads and transport. The water quality of coastal areas has deteriorated which has contributed to the destruction of coral reefs”. All have been vastly over occupied and destroyed over the years due to the amount of tourists vising this destination. SKWIRK (2014) believes “Tourism has many effects on a location, both good and bad, and it is important that tourists take responsibility for their actions, and are respectful of cultures and lands”.

Bali began development in 1969 which saw the government build a new airport for tourist to travel too. SKWIRK (2014) mentions that “During the 1970s and 1980s tourism to the area grew rapidly which caused a great wave of change to the island. Employment increased and the country was becoming more financially stable. The environment, however, felt the negative impacts.” Results show that in 1969 over 30,000 tourists visited this destination, but in 1993 there were over four million visitors entering Bali. The original development plan was to protect the local cultural integrity of Bali, but what the government didn’t expect was the attraction of the younger working travellers who wanted cheap accommodation, which then meant that Bali itself had to cater for two forms of tourists. The young traveller tourists and the richer travellers who then wanted to stay in the best form of accommodation. SKWIRK (2014) explains “In 1991 the government stopped hotel construction in Bali because of the pressure on the area's natural resources. The government realised that poor planning, combined with the rapid growth in tourism could potentially ruin everything that was making the island so appealing to tourists in the first place. SKWIRK (2014) explains “Tourism in Bali has experienced rapid growth over the last 25 years and is the most popular tourist destination in Indonesia. People from around the world are attracted by its intricate rice paddies, beaches, temples and fascinating culture”.

It is clear to see that tourism has played a major role and essential source of earning. It can be evidently seen that almost all of economic activities in Bali were dependant on the tourism sector. This being said Bali may be looking to find a more sustainable future but there are still main issues facing the mass tourism effects on the local economy, and while trying to place more rural resort in Bali these could then turn into mass tourism resorts.




Reference

•Coccossis, H. (2000) Sustainable tourism: European experiences. 1st ed. Bristol: Biddles LTD
•Lane. (1994). Tourism Management: Profiling segments of tourists in rural areas, needs and wants. Department of Quantitative Methods for the Economy, University of Murcia, Campus de Espinardo, 30100 Murcia, Spain
•SKWIRK (2014) The History of Balinese tourism [Online]. [Acessed 26 April 2014]. Available at: http://www.skwirk.com/p-c_s-1_u-46_t-36_c-99/tourism/nsw/hsie/study-of-a-cultural-group-bali/changing-culture

I chose to comment on the discussion paper “Rural tourism or mass rural tourism! A case on Bali”, for my personal interest in such types of tourism. Rural tourism possesses similar characteristics to ecotourism which was the focus of my own paper. Similarly to rural, ecotourism “involves travel to relatively undisturbed or protected natural areas, fostering understanding, appreciation and conservation of the flora, fauna, geology and eco-systems of an area” Wearing and Neil (2012, p.9). That is why; the discussion paper by my colleague Abygail Bradley has triggered my interest.

In the abstract, the author has summarised in an interesting way the issues which would be raised in the main body of the paper. The abstract clearly shows that comparison between rural and mass tourism needs to be made together with discussion around their conflicting effects on the Island of Bali as a tourist destination.

In the first two paragraphs, the author has defined rural and mass tourism and exposed the most significant differences between those two types of travel. However, the author could have expanded on the principles of sustainability in scope of tourism itself and specifically in the contexts of rural and mass tourism as she mentions that according to Coccossis (2000) “mass tourism in some cases can cause unsustainable problems within destinations due to the vast amounts of tourists travelling to that one destination”. Sustainability, according to the Brundtland report from 1987 is about “meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Landorf, 2009, p.54). The report outlined four sustainability principles which are as follows: “(1) holistic planning and strategic decision-making; (2) preservation of essential ecological processes; (3) protection of human heritage and biodiversity; and (4) growth that can be sustained over the long term” (Landorf, 2009, p.54). As sustainability has been used in endless number of diverse fields it must be defined according to the goal of every particular study. In the context of rural and mass tourism which impact the development of Bali as tourist destination, social and environmental sustainability could have been discussed. Sustainability is an essential input for the tourism industry but tourists` actions may also have a damaging effect on the indigenous communities and natural environment unless travellers are socially responsible (Chan and Wong in Sanagustín Fons and Fierro, 2011). In the case of mass tourism and sustainable development the following question may be raised – is it possible that all tourists could be socially responsible and aware of the consequences of their actions when they visit a certain destination?

Also, the author has identified in more depth the impacts of mass tourism on the Balinese local and natural environment than the ones of rural tourism. Perhaps, particular examples why Bali can be seen as rural destination could have been brought. Of course, as this discussion paper does not include everything discussed by the author in her main conference paper, I can only base my recommendations on the information available and make assumptions on what could be improved.

Overall, the author has raised interesting issues related to the development of tourism in Bali, in tandem with its importance to the island`s economy and its effects on the local and natural environment. This discussion paper may provide the basis for further research as the topic is extremely intriguing and clearly involves number of critical issues.

References:

Landorf, C. (2009) Managing for sustainable tourism: a review of six cultural World Heritage Sites. Journal of Sustainable Tourism [online], 17(1), pp. 53-70 Available at: <http://wlv.summon.serialssolutions.com.ezproxy.wlv.ac.uk/2.0.0/link/0/eLvHCXMwTV1LCgIxDC3iCQRde4FCM84k07U4eAA9QJu8Lr3_0ocImgNk9XgfeCQpnSNIi9W8jK5ARaVE0hZ0NIx1fIqYv0v7f2y-HdIOr2N6brfH9Z6_zwCyT5S1vPocUnwK-qyQEG5HmKo3ZSJvIlGXYYblAgdBNlvpSoBxCOEuckp7Bmq8AcLWJmA>.

Sanagustín Fons, M. and Fierro, J.A.M. (2011) Rural tourism: A sustainable alternative. Applied Energy [online], 88(2), pp. 551-557.

Wearing, S and Neil, J. (2012) Eco Tourism Impacts potentials and possibilities, 2nd ed., Routledge

This paper caught my attention, because it addresses highly relevant issue within the tourism industry. The author of this conference paper has a concern about how rural tourism in relatively small destination can turn, with time, to a mass tourism destination, which subsequently will have harmful effects on country’s natural resources.

In the first part of this work, author has provided a good illustration about the differences between rural tourism and mass tourism since for discussion of this topic it is essential to understand what is the difference between these two concepts. As the author indicated, mass tourism refers to many people visiting a destination at once, while rural tourism, on the other hand, refers to traveling to undisturbed natural areas with a low volume of tourists. The emergence of mass tourism is usually attributed to the factors, such as innovations in transportation and increase of welfare. As a result of these factors, traveling was no longer the privilege of only for the rich people and therefore this led to emergence of destinations with the large number of tourists. As explained in the discussion paper, tourism is significant, or even vital source of income for countries, such as Bali. However, as the author pointed out, alongside with the economical benefits, enormous number of tourists may also bring along with negative side effects.

Due to the fact that recent concern about environmental well-being has gained worldwide concern, rural tourism is becoming more popular among tourists. As it has been explained in the very beginning of this discussion paper, small-scale tourism seeks to sustain the quantity, which can help to minimise environmental and social negative impacts. Thus it can be seen as a means of struggling with the harmful consequences from mass tourism.

In my opinion Bali was an appropriate choice of concentration during the investigation of this topic. This work has clearly indicated the importance of tourism development for Bali and its willingness to promote small-scale tourism in rural areas. Later it was pointed out that due to a growth of tourist flows, Bali had to face with degradation of natural recourses. This, in turn is harmful since tourism depends on these natural resources.

I believe that nowadays this problem is very acute since according to Liu (2010), demand for alternative types of tourism, including rural tourism, is steadily growing and if the number of tourists will be growing, consequently rural tourism will turn into a large-scale, mass tourism and thus it will lose its original intention. As a result, natural recourses will be destroyed and therefore besides the negative affect on local community, destination will also lose its attractiveness for tourists.

Overall, I found this paper very interesting, because once again, it made me ponder the thin line between rural tourism and mass tourism. Without a proper management, alternative types of tourism, which initially was intended to fight against the destructive effects of mass tourism, may itself become a part of a mass tourism with its consequences.



Reference:

Liu, Z. (2003). Sustainable Tourism Development: A Critique. Journal of Sustainable Tourism. 11 (6), p459-475.