ABSTRACT

Cultural tourism and empowerment: the case of Bali, Indonesia Tourism to Bali was initially a product of the Dutch colonial era, when the cultural attractions of the island were first realised. The unusually expressive culture, rooted firmly in Buddhism and manifest in a remarkable range of religious sites, ceremonies and visually striking performing and visual arts, was seen as a particular attraction to overseas visitors. When Bali became part of Indonesia in 1958, the promotion of Balinese tourism-primarily as a means of earning foreign revenue-was reaffirmed. The first tourism master plan (1971) proposed a series of enclave developments which, by 1988, had been extended to cover fifteen locations, mostly concentrated on the south coast.