Badung Government asked owners of illegal villas to immediately performing demolition. According to the government data, in Badung there are 300 villas that have yet pocketing permission or authorization.

Both Tempo Interactive and the Jakarta Post quote Indonesian hotel and restaurant business people as calling on the government to urgently reduce the 300% luxury tax now being imposed on liquor. Calling for at least a 50% reduction in the current tax tariff, Carla Parengkuan, Executive Director of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI), [...]

Indonesia’s Minister of Culture and Tourism, Jero Wacik, came in for a scathing page-one attacks in Nusa Bali in response to his calls for easy acceptance of the controversial anti-pornography legislation signed into law by the President last week. According to Nusa Bali, Bali’s only representative in the presidential cabinet is being roundly attacked by [...]

Hotel Baruna owner summoned to explain reclamation and building violations in Bali’s north shore. Reacting to growing public complaints and coverage in Bali’s press, the regional government in the North Bali regency of Buleleng is gradually beginning to take legal steps against local businesses that violate zoning and set back rules.

Pastika calls for dialog and a stop on issuing new building permits for new Bali villas in Pecatu and Uluwatu. Chairman of Bali’s Provincial House of Representatives (DPRD-Bali), Ida Bagus Wesnawa, has lashed out in the local press at reports that Bali’s Governor Made Mangku Pastika plans to revise the 2005 zoning regulations.

Badung regional government to re-evaluate environmental impact of shifting sand from Geger beach of Nusa Dua to Kuta beach. The Badung regional government in Bali has acquiesced to community demands and, at least temporarily, halted sand dredging activities off Nusa Dua’s Geger Beach. As reported on balidiscovery.com , an ocean-going dredger has been working over [...]

Government threats to forcefully remove the sixth floor of Anantara Seminyak Beach Resort. Anantara Seminyak Beach Resort & Spa has just been listed among 15 hotels to watch in the just published Travel + Leisure poll of the best cities, islands, hotels, tour companies, airlines and rental car companies appears to cut little slack with [...]

111 illegal villas facing closure on August 29, 2008. Badung Tourism Office promises to enforce closure rule on villas who fail to meet regulatory requirements for commercial villas. The Regional Tourism office of Badung, acting on the Governor’s August 29, 2008 deadline for the legalization of all commercial villas, is preparing two team to move [...]

It is painfully apparent that something is seriously wrong with the way Bali’s administrators issue licenses and permits for new hotel and villa projects. Beyond the poor enforcement of existing rules and regulations on green belts, setbacks from rivers and waterfronts, and open-space ratios; the pay-as-you-go laissez-faire approach to granting permits for new projects is [...]