Balinese hope construction freeze can tame tourism

On Indonesia’s beach-fringed resort island of Bali, fed-up locals want to slow the mass tourism that is their biggest money earner – hoping a plan to freeze hotel-building can restore some calm.

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Anxious about runaway tourism, many Balinese yearn for a more tranquil yesteryear, much like residents in European hotspots Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, or Venice.

In response, Indonesian authorities recently announced plans – yet to be confirmed by the new government – for a two-year moratorium on building hotels, villas, and nightclubs.

Before foreign surfers discovered its waves decades ago, Canggu was a quiet, southern Balinese beachside village perched on the Indian Ocean and dotted with rice paddy fields.

Now, it bristles with hotels and lodgings, its streets clogged with cars, scooters, and trucks.

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Locals like 23-year-old Kadek Candrawati fear the environment is taking second place.

  

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