Some Hotels in South Bali have been recently accused of barring general public of using beaches in front of hotels despite the fact that they are on free access…
BALI- A number of hotels in Nusa Dua are being accused of expropriating their beachfronts, turning these areas into private beaches off-limits to non-hotel guests.
The Bali Post highlighted the problem in one of its edition, reporting that people straying into some beach fronts at Nusa Dua are turned back by security staff who warns that only hotel guests are allowed access to the beach front. And while some beach visitors protest, correctly insisting that all beaches are open to public access in Bali, the security guards remain steadfast in barring their passage.
Protests from local citizens have prompted the chairman of the Bali chapter of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) Rai Surya Wijaya to issue a statement, saying: “The beach belongs to the public and cannot be closed or controlled by anyone. What’s more, there is the impression that several hotels are subdividing the beachfront among themselves, a practice they are not supposed to do. The beach is for the enjoyment of the public at all times. The public can visit any beach at any time.”
Surya Wijaya said that many hotels use the beach panorama due to their location. They then display lounge chairs along the beach giving the wrong impression of exclusive control and ownership of the latter. While in reality the beach should be accessible to anyone staying in Bali, locals or tourists.
The PHRI-Bali chairman expressed the belief that hotels laying more than their rightful claim on their beachfront can, in fact, be encountered in many areas of Bali, not just in Nusa Dua. Bali’s official zoning law, RTRWP 2009, contains stipulations intended to safeguard the public right-of-way to all beaches by outlawing all permanent structure being built within 100 meters of the high water mark.
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
