Bingin Beach Demolition Project

Perhaps some of you are wondering what those strange vacation photos are. When you head to Bingin Beach, which is actually a well-known surf beach, you will initially be taken aback. As you turn the corner to the beach, you won’t see pleasant cafés, palm trees, sand, and the sea, but rather large mounds of rubble against the backdrop of the turquoise ocean.

What has happened here? Why is there only a huge pile of debris where once there was a place of relaxation for tourists?

This is part of the “Bingin Beach Demolition Project.” The buildings that stood here until the middle of this year were destroyed at the government's request. The reason was that the constructions were reportedly built without valid usage rights and violated building regulations. Both local entrepreneurs and foreign investors are affected by the demolitions. The future of the area remains unclear.

For us, the impressions from Bingin Beach today symbolized the overall impression we have of this region in Bali. We feel that mass tourism is putting extreme pressure on this beautiful island with its unique culture. We came here expecting to spend our last few days of travel in a relaxed manner at a nice vacation spot. Instead, we find ourselves primarily grappling with how extensively tourism impacts people, culture, and nature here. Alongside our incredibly beautiful hotel, there are construction sites around that are giving rise to more complexes. We see construction workers toiling here in the heat during the day and late into the evening on the construction sites. They live and sleep in makeshift wooden huts on the sites.

Overall, the effects of the crowds of people are evident at every corner. Millions of visitors consume vast amounts of water and energy, while waste and wastewater burden the environment. Rice fields and coastlines are being built over to make room for hotels and villas. Socially, there is also an imbalance: locals are being displaced, land prices are rising, and Balinese culture seems to be increasingly reduced to a spectacle for tourists. What was once spiritual and authentic is under threat of becoming merely a backdrop.

Of course, we are only seeing a very small part of the island and cannot assess how things are in other regions of the island. But this place in Bali has truly made us contemplative and affected.