The Transformation of Quality-Cultural Tourism into Overtourism: A Review of Bali’s Tourism Trajectory
Description
This report examines the transformation of Bali's tourism model from one grounded in cultural quality to a mass-tourism paradigm resulting in overtourism. Drawing from a range of governmental, academic, and media sources, the study explores the historical trajectory, multidimensional impacts, and current policy responses to tourism-related challenges. Through critical analysis, it uncovers regulatory gaps, socio-environmental consequences, and the economic paradoxes embedded in Bali's dependence on tourism. The report advocates for a paradigm shift towards sustainable, high-value tourism and proposes strategic pathways involving branding, governance reform, community empowerment, and environmental stewardship. This report synthesizes secondary data from government reports, academic journals, tourism association publications, and media sources spanning 2019–2025. A qualitative desk review methodology was employed to analyze the socio-cultural, environmental, and regulatory dimensions of overtourism in Bali. Infographic design was based on thematic data visualization principles to distill complex issues for broad audiences.
Files
Steps to reproduce
Steps to Reproduce This dataset and accompanying report were developed using a qualitative, document-based research approach combined with trend analysis. The steps to reproduce the findings are as follows: Data Collection Gather secondary data from public sources including: a) Monthly Passenger Statistics from Bali Hotels Association (https://www.balihotelsassociation.com/monthly-passengers-statistic/) b) Official statistics from Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy c) Archival reports from World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), local government planning documents, and news media. Timeframe Mapping Construct a historical timeline from the 1970s to 2024 to track key tourism policy shifts, growth periods, event hosting (e.g., G20, IMF-WB, WWF 2024), and milestones contributing to overtourism. Thematic Analysis Apply qualitative coding techniques to categorize patterns and shifts in Bali’s tourism model, focusing on policy, cultural commodification, infrastructure stress, and media narratives. Visual Data Presentation Generate infographics, charts, and visuals to illustrate visitor trends, development impacts, and saturation points using software such as Canva and Microsoft Excel. Interpretation Contextualize findings using academic references and concepts from tourism planning, destination lifecycle theory, and overtourism literature. All sources used are properly cited, and no proprietary or restricted data were included. The dataset can be reproduced by repeating the collection and thematic coding steps using the same public data sources.
Institutions
- Universitas Pendidikan Nasional