As Bali's tourism industry ramps up its post-pandemic recovery
efforts, industry stakeholders have teamed up for a collaborative
campaign championing green tourism initiatives on the island.
Under the banner of “KemBALI Becik”, local businesses and NGOs have
banded together with government support for a greener tourism recovery.
(In Indonesian, kembali means “return”, while becik is Balinese for
“well” or “good”.)
Through its website and social media campaigns, the collective
highlights businesses adopting clean energy and offering
environmentally-friendly products, such as Mana Earthly Paradise, which
is run by the NGO Earth Company.
“The movement is getting larger,” said Aska Hamakawa, Earth Company’s
founder and executive director. “But this cannot be achieved by only by
a few small groups. It needs to be collective impact by multi-sector
stakeholders, and without the government’s committed initiative and
actions, island-wide implementation will be very difficult if not
impossible.”
Hamakawa noted that 81% of travellers say that sustainable travel is
important to them, and 59% say they want to leave places they visit
better than when they arrived, citing a recent Booking.com survey of over 30,000 people across 32 countries and territories.
“If Bali could become the world’s sustainable tourism capital — or
even better, the regenerative tourism capital — the island could be the
role model for the future of tourism.”
For hotels aiming to improve their environmental impact, the World
Travel & Tourism Council has recently launched a set of
sustainability guidelines.
Locally,
a new NGO, Eco Tourism Bali, is collaborating with research and
development organisation Kopernik to create simplified and affordable
sustainability certification for independent budget to four-star hotels
and restaurants.
The main outcome of the programme will be detailed guidelines, a
roadmap, and a tool for hospitality businesses to see where they are and
to know how they can achieve sustainability, said Kopernik’s Oscar
Casalderrey.
Some hotels such as The Apurva Kempinski Bali are now offering
sustainable wedding packages. Featuring a dress designed by
award-winning ethical fashion brand SukkhaCitta, biodegradable
decorations by Designmill Co., and souvenirs created by Balinese
craftspeople from Puri Ata and Taga Woodcraft, it aims to inspire the
community to reduce weddings’ carbon footprint.
“We view sustainability as absolutely essential, not only as a
business entity, but also for the next generation,” said Vincent
Guironnet, general manager at The Apurva Kempinski Bali.
“As the largest industry in Bali, hospitality has a profound
responsibility to take ownership of reducing the impact we have on
society and the environment. Incorporating sustainability into our
business will bring more attention to the subject and influence other
businesses in the sector to follow suit.”