DENPASAR, DEWATA.NEWS – Bali’s rapidly expanding tourism development has delivered broad economic benefits, but experts warn it is also creating long-term risks, particularly through accelerated land conversion that is increasingly affecting local communities and agricultural sustainability.
Economic observer Ida Bagus Raka Suardana, a professor at Universitas Pendidikan Nasional (Undiknas), said tourism development over the past five years has continued to spread beyond urban centers into rural areas, producing layered economic impacts.
Citing data from Indonesia’s National Land Agency (BPN), Raka said Bali lost approximately 6,521.81 hectares of rice fields between 2019 and 2024, a decline of around 9.19 percent. Much of the land has been converted into tourism facilities and urban housing.
Strategic areas have recorded particularly sharp reductions. Denpasar has seen rice field areas shrink by more than 38 percent over the past six years, followed by Gianyar and Tabanan. In Badung, productive land conversion has accelerated from 26.03 hectares in 2020 to around 348 hectares in 2024, reflecting the rapid expansion of tourism and property projects.
According to Raka, Bali’s economy remains heavily dependent on tourism. Visitor arrivals reached approximately 6.3 million in 2024 and are projected to rise to around 7 million in 2025. This growth is expected to continue supporting service sectors such as hotels, restaurants, tour services, and UMKM linked to tourism activities.
However, he warned that unchecked land conversion could undermine economic resilience. The loss of productive farmland is increasing Bali’s dependence on food supplies from outside the island, potentially driving up local prices and weakening household economic security for families previously reliant on agriculture.
Rising land values driven by speculative investment are also widening inequality between large capital owners involved in tourism development and local residents without land assets.
Raka said the provincial government has responded with Bali Governor Instruction No. 5 of 2025, which restricts the conversion of agricultural land in an effort to slow the trend and safeguard food security amid tourism pressure.
He added that Bali’s heavy reliance on tourism also makes the island vulnerable to global demand fluctuations and external economic shocks, posing challenges for long-term and inclusive economic distribution if land conversion remains uncontrolled.
Meanwhile, tourism observer I Putu Anom, a professor at Universitas Udayana, said tourism accommodation development in rural areas can benefit local communities if carried out by local residents. In practice, however, many projects are developed by foreign investors who lease land from locals and sublet it, often without proper permits.
He noted that the proliferation of unlicensed small-scale accommodations has also resulted in lost local tax revenue. Anom emphasized that tourism development should avoid converting rice fields and instead utilize small plots near existing homes, such as backyard land, to reduce large-scale land conversion.
“What has happened in areas like Canggu is the conversion of rice fields. Development should take place on residential land, such as backyard areas, rather than productive farmland,” he said.
Anom stressed the importance of enforcing zoning rules and licensing regulations, urging local governments to actively monitor development in their respective regions. He added that tourism accommodations should be properly registered and, where possible, owned by local residents to ensure that economic benefits are more evenly distributed.