We Will Always Love Indonesia: bali

Part I - Timeline

1597
The first western account of visiting Bali by Dutchman Aernoudt Lintgens.

Early 20th Century
Tourists reached by steamship from Java landing in the port of Buleleng (Singaraja).

1926
The first tourist hotel (The Bali Hotel) was opened in Denpasar.

1932
Adrien Jean Le Mayeur de Merpes, one of Bali’s famous expats, based himself in Sanur.

1936
Bob Koke and his wife Louise opened the Kuta Beach Hotel, creating an informal (for the period) type of accommodation and atmosphere for visitors.

1960's
The emergence of Sanur on the SE coast.

1969
Bali’s international airport, Ngurah Rai in Tuban (although referred to as Denpasar) opened.

1970's
The idea for Nusa Dua started with a stretch of mangrove and white sand beach on the eastern Bukit being transformed into a line of 20 luxury resorts.

1980‘s
Mass tourism started to make headway in with Legian emerging as the place to be and Seminyak the next in line.

2002
A bombing by militant Islamists in the tourist area of Kuta killed 202 people, mostly foreigners.

2004
The Indian Ocean Earthquake brought Bali many tourists who planned to go to Phuket or Maldive.

2005

Another bombing by militant Islamists in Jimbaran and Kuta.

2008
The American government lifted its travel warnings.

2009
The Australian government still rates it a 4 danger level on a scale of 5.

2010
The Indonesian Tourism Ministry expects more visitors arrivals, whose target for visitor arrivals is aimed to be the highest ever.

Sourse:
Wikipedia

Why Go Bali

Part II - Statistics

As illustrated in the table, number of foreign passenger arrivals grew at a rate of 8.0% from about 491,000 in 1990 to around 2 million in 2008. Between 1990 and 1997, the compound annual growth rate is 14%. This dramatic growth is due to Bali’s growing status as a resort destination in the world. Because of the Asian financial crisis in 1998, visitor arrivals declined by 3.5%. Nevertheless, the number recovered soon and reached 1.36 million high in the next year. However, foreign arrivals began to fall from 2001, dipping to approximately 993,000 in 2003. Furthermore, events such as SARS also impacted the travel demand.

Between 2003 and 2007, the number of foreign arrivals to Bali fluctuated significantly because of the two terrorist attacks.

International visitor arrivals in 2008 hit approximately 2 million, 18.3% higher than in 2007. The growth is mainly due to a variety of promotional activities launched for new markets while maintaining the traditionally strong markets. Even though the number of foreign arrivals was influenced by the financial crisis, the year to date (YTD) August 2009 is still strong as almost 1.5 million, 12.8% higher than YTD August 2008.

Part III - Tourism and Its Impacts on Bali

Here is an interesting article on the impact of tourism on Balinese culture, written by Stephanie A. Thullen. This article is apart of her writing entitled Tourism and its Impacts on the Environment

Kuta began as a small fishing village and has since become one of Indonesia's most developed tourist destinations. The first settlers came around 2500 BC from other areas in Asia, who were later followed by Hindu settlers from India around 100 BC. The first modern day tourists came in the 1970's and were primarily backpackers from Europe and Australia. These visitors typically stayed in simple guest houses and warungs and ate simple local foods. These days, Kuta is a well developed tourist destination and is arguably most popular among international vacationers from all over the world for its beaches and entertainment. Kuta's location on the southern end of Bali makes it a short 10 minute drive from Ngurah Rai International Airport.

Like the rest of Bali, the high seasons are in July and August as well as the weeks shouldering Christmas and New Year's. Exact international arrival statistics specific to Kuta cannot be found at this time.

Kuta is home to Kuta Beach. It has long beaches that extend as far as the eye can see with magnificent sunsets over the Indian Ocean. Tourists and locals alike get a spectacular view each evening. The beach in Kuta is also regarded as one of the top surfing destinations in the world due to an exposed beach break that provides consistent surf. This has attracted surfers from around the world to ride Kuta's waves, although the beach has received criticism for being polluted.

The popularity of Kuta beach aided in the transformation of Kuta from a fishing village to an entertainment mecca. Back in the 1970's, a few pioneers set up shop to serve the growing tourist market, and among these were Made's Warung and Poppies Restaurant, both of which are still in business. There is a high concentration of hotels, nightlife, and dining venues that range from modest to upper scale. Cafes, pubs, and clubs are prevalent throughout Kuta, with the main party strip on Jalan Legian between Poppies 1 and 2 (alleyways). The most prominent of the entertainment venues is the Hard Rock Cafe, which draws in a packed crowd of international party revelers each weekend. Scroll down for some must-go hotels and entertainment venues as recommended by TripAdvisor contributors.

Two deadly bombings took place in Kuta in 2002 and 2005. The incidents, believed to be planned terrorist attacks, were reported around the world and landed Kuta and Bali on the world stage. A memorial shrine was erected after the 2002 bombing, but tourism has since rebounded tremendously.