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DevNet NZ Research: Details
Beyond Bom Bali: Impacts on Ubud's Cultural Tourism Industry
Author: Sarah Ellis Year:
Email: ellsa422@student.otago.ac.nz
Degree/Paper Studied: MA
Terrorist attacks in tourism areas highlight the important role political stability plays in tourism development. A terrorist attack in a tourism area is likely to result in an immediate mass exodus of tourists, with negative economic repercussions on the local communities to follow. What is relatively unknown is what longer term impacts arise in the wake of a terrorist attack and how different sectors and types of tourism are affected. My research analyses the cultural tourism industry in the village of Ubud in wake of the Bali bombings that occurred in Kuta Beach, October 2002. This paper examines the impacts on three sectors of Ubud’s cultural tourism industry, those being cultural tourism sites, dance and art. It is found that there has been a shift in the types of tourists now visiting Ubud - Australians and Europeans numbers have declined and numbers have been replaced by a strong Asian market. People in the cultural tourism industry have said that Asian tourists spend their money on hotels and food and are less likely to purchase cultural products or visit cultural sites. This has larger ramifications for the cultural tourism industry, which relies on culturally-motivated tourists. Most seriously impacted are local artists. Many artists are painting less, or in some cases, not at all as a response to the significant drop in sales; a direct result of the event of Bom-Bali. The ramifications of the decline of the cultural tourism industry and opportunities for local development are discussed. The paper builds from previous research of French anthropologist Michel Picard who argues that Balinese culture and tourism have become inextricably linked – changes in tourism will simultaneously lead to changes in culture.
Research Status: In progress
Pages Updated On: 18-Nov-2008 - 15:20:30