BALI is back after the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, marked by an increase in the number of tourists, both domestic and foreign during May and June 2022. In June 2022, the number of foreign tourists was recorded to have exceeded 180 thousand according to the Bali Provincial Tourism Office.
The increasing number of tourists to Bali is certainly encouraging but must be accompanied by reducing the negative impact on the environment. As quoted from Sungai Watch’s report titled Impact Report October 2020-December 2021, Bali produces 333,336 inorganic waste of which 89% is dominated by plastic waste.
This concern was also expressed by the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Uno, who said that post-pandemic conditions were marked by an increase in the number of tourists visiting Bali, but this must be accompanied by a reduction in the amount of plastic waste and carbon emissions, which is a challenge for us all.
In this case, the Tourism Ministry with various programs has encouraged various tourist destinations to implement more sustainable development. The Ministry of Tourism is also committed to always support programs that aim to build, maintain awareness and sustainability among tourism industry players and the creative economy.
“Hopefully the Eco Tourism Week held by Eco Tourism Bali can provide inspiration and education for Bali tourism actors so they can realize sustainability for the future development of Bali’s environment and tourism,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Suzy Hutomo as the Founder and CEO of Eco Tourism Bali said that Eco Tourism Bali (ETB) is a circular ecosystem for the tourism industry which has the main goal of protecting Bali’s natural and cultural wealth by improving the local community’s economy, initiating the development of a sustainable tourism roadmap for small businesses. and medium-sized hotels and restaurants in Bali, holding Eco Tourism Week events so that sustainable tourism practices can be implemented.
“We have partnered with Kopernik to develop a road map, create a framework of reference and a measurement tool for sustainable tourism for medium and small scale accommodation and restaurant businesses in Bali,” said Suzy Hutomo.
During April and May 2022, Eco Tourism Bali together with Kopernik have interviewed several medium and small business hotels spread from the South, North, West, East and Central Bali as references for the road map for implementing sustainable tourism. In the next stage, a similar process will be carried out for medium and small scale business restaurants in Bali.
Likewise Rahmi Fajar Harini as Co-founder and COO of Eco Tourism Bali said Eco Tourism Week was the first step in creating Bali as a center for sustainable tourism destinations in accordance with Sustainable Development Goals number 6,7, 11 and 12 of the United Nations.
“In the early stages of developing a sustainable tourism industry roadmap, we have summarized and issued four main components and 30 GSTC-inspired criteria, in order to understand the feasibility of medium and small scale accommodation businesses for sustainable tourism. The 4 components are resource conservation, reducing pollution, biodiversity conservation and social benefits for local communities,” Rahmi Fajar Harini noted.
Eco Tourism Week is also carried out by involving various policy holders including the government and tourism associations such as ASITA, BTB, GMHA and others. Also partnering with the Bali Investment Club (BIC) to encourage start-ups that do sustainable business in Bali.
One of the agendas carried out during Eco Tourism Week was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Eco Tourism Bali and the Bali Tourism Board represented by Ida Bagus Partha Adnyana or better known as Gus Agung as Chariman Bali Tourism Board.
Gus Agung said, we welcome the initiatives undertaken by Eco Tourism Bali to encourage sustainable tourism. For this reason, the signing of this memorandum of understanding will be followed up with concrete steps that can be taken together to make Bali a sustainable tourist destination in the world.
In the first quarter of 2023, Eco Tourism Bali is expected to be able to issue a self-assessment and complete main guideline for sustainable tourism for small and medium scale business accommodation and restaurant businesses in Bali, so as to encourage the growth of sustainable tourism industry players in Bali. [traveltext.id]