It was beginning with the recognition of the island of Bali by westerners, then it tells a long historical story. This history also influences the development of Bali tourism. The main thing that makes Bali famous for its tourism is certainly not because of the beaches, mountains, and other natural charms. However, Balinese tourism is developing because of its aesthetic value, Hindu-based cultural art, and the flexibility and tolerance of Balinese people. Let’s take a look at the development of Balinese tourism from time to time.
- Arrival of the Netherlands
The history of the development of Balinese tourism can be traced, since the arrival of Dutch sailors on the island of Bali in 1597. The ship captain of the Belada sailor named Cornelius Houtman. This year the Balinese first made contact with Europeans.
When Cornelius Houtman wanted to leave the island of Bali, many of the ship’s crew did not want to leave Bali. They are very interested and fascinated by the prosperity and cultural arts of the Balinese people. When the Dutch returned to Bali a few years later, the Dutch were no longer interested in the arts and culture that the Balinese had. But the Dutch are more interested in seeking profits by exploiting the Balinese.
- The Dutch Strategy to Control Bali
In 1710 there was an upheaval in the Balinese kingdom which was controlled by the Gelgel kingdom in Klungkung district. This upheaval made the Gelgel royal palace moved to the north and named Semarapura. Many small kingdoms in Bali feel dissatisfied with the administration of the Semarapura kingdom. Then many small kingdoms in Bali want to make their own government, by separating themselves from the kingdom of Semarapura.
This situation was seen by the Dutch as a great opportunity to control Bali, by dividing the Balinese unity. The Sasak tribe on the island of Lombok was once part of the Balinese kingdom, and the Dutch made the Sasak tribe of Lombok to separate from the Balinese kingdom by means of a rebellion.
The battle between the Balinese royal forces in Lombok against the Sasak tribe cannot be avoided. Because the Balinese kingdom was divided, the defeat of the rebellious Sasak tribe was unavoidable. The Dutch also controlled the northern island of Bali, which made the Balinese kingdom in the south, just waiting for the Dutch to conquer.
- The ended of Puputan War made Bali more famous
The puputan war carried out by the people of Bali succeeded in tarnishing the reputation of the Netherlands in the international world. To make up for this mistake, the Dutch did not do a forced planting system on the island of Bali, instead promoting the island of Bali to the international world. Well, this is the beginning of the development of the island of Bali to become a place of tourism.
The development of Bali tourism starts from the number of foreign artists who choose to settle in the tourist area of Ubud to pursue their art. Artwork from foreign artists who settled in Ubud directly promoted the island of Bali as an exotic place to visit.
Read also:
- Cultural Tourism In Jakarta
- Enviromental Impacts Of Tourism In Indonesia
- Socio Cultural Impacts Of Tourism In Bali
- Bali as The world of Surfing began in 1970
The rapid development of Bali tourism occurred in the 70s. It happened when the surfers found lots of waves on the island of Bali that are very good for surfing. This surfer indirectly promoted tourism in the island of Bali in the 1970s.
Besides  the white sand beach, the tropic nature of the island of Bali includes mountains, hills, terraced rice fields, seabed, and rivers all offering their own unique and distinctive features. Therefore, so many international media have mentioned the island of Bali, as a tropical tourist destination, which is most in demand by tourists.
Not only that, water sports activities such as Parasailing, Jet Ski and Banana Boat become the main attraction for tourists. The biggest place for water sport activities in Bali is on Tanjung Benoa beach. Every day, Tanjung Benoa beach is visited by tourists to play Bali water sport.
water sports that are also often sought by foreign tourists and domestic tourists are Bali rafting activities. For rafting in Bali the river used is Ayung river and rafting on the Telaga Waja river.
- Sanur Tourism Development
In Sanur, tourism development has been lively, long before there were modern hotels in Sanur, called Hotels La Taverna and Tandjung Sari, which are well known to tourists when visiting Bali. About 20 minutes distance from Ngurah Rai Airport to Sanur. During the Suharto administration, also did not want to lose in building tourism, Pak Harto asked Emil Salim to design a hotel that was right facing the sunrise, then the Sanur Beach hotel was built in 1974.
- The development in Nusa Dua as BTDC area
The construction of international class tourist accommodation facilities finally began with the development of the Nusa Dua region into an international tourist resort. Managed by the Bali Tourism Development Corporation (BTDC), a body formed by the government, the Nusa Dua region was developed to meet international tourism needs. Some hotel operators enter the Nusa Dua area as investors. In the end this area was able to boost the development of Bali tourism.
- Massive Reconstruction in 2000’s
Subsequent periods, tourist travel facilities then grew very rapidly in the center of accommodation and tourist shelters, especially in Badung, Denpasar and Gianyar. The coastal areas of Kuta, Jimbaran and Ungasan become tourist residential areas in Badung Regency. Sanur and the city center for Denpasar area. Ubud, Kedewatan, Payangan and Tegalalang become tourism accommodation developers in the Gianyar area.
To control this very rapid development, the regional government of Bali then determined 15 areas in Bali as tourist accommodation areas along with supporting facilities such as restaurants and shopping centers. Until now, Bali has more than 35,000 hotel rooms consisting of Pondok Wisata, Melati hotel up to five star classes. The hotel facilities appear in various forms ranging from home models, standard hotels, villas, bungalows and boutique hotels with varying prices. This variety gives more value to Bali because it offers many choices to travelers.
- Bali Tourism Support Facilities
Today there are so many hotels, villas, resorts, bungalows and home stays located on the island of Bali. Places to eat also experience development on the island of Bali, all of which are provided to accommodate tourists who vacation in Bali. Tourism in Bali also provides many cheap Bali tour services, for those of you who want a vacation to a tourism object in Bali.
Those are the development of Bali tourism. The government should keep it up. However they shouldn’t forget about the safety awareness in Bali. Everyone will definitely not want to vacation in a place that does not provide a sense of security. Bali Island has entered the travel warning several times in developed countries, such as the United States and Australia. Luckily now, the travel warning has been revoked, so the island of Bali can still be said to be the safest tourist spot in Indonesia.
