Paradise LOST: Bali BANS All New Hotels and Restaurants in Shock Move After Deadly Floods Kill 18 and Ravage the ‘Island of the Gods’ – as Authorities FINALLY Crack Down on Rampant Overdevelopment
- Holiday hotspot Bali has announced a dramatic and immediate ban on all new hotel and restaurant construction in a desperate bid to save the island.
- The shock move comes after the island was ravaged by the worst floods in more than a decade, leaving at least 18 people dead and thousands affected.
- Authorities are finally cracking down on the rampant overdevelopment that has seen the island’s iconic lush green rice paddies paved over for tourist resorts.
- Environmentalists have warned for years that unchecked mass tourism was turning the holiday paradise into an environmental disaster zone waiting to happen.
The island paradise of Bali has slammed the brakes on its booming tourism industry, sensationally banning the construction of all new hotels and restaurants after the holiday hotspot was devastated by deadly flash floods that killed at least 18 people.
In a shock announcement, the island’s governor, Wayan Koster, declared a state of emergency and issued immediate instructions to stop all new building permits for commercial facilities on productive agricultural land, especially the iconic rice fields that have been rapidly disappearing under a sea of concrete.
The drastic crackdown comes after the ‘Island of the Gods’ was brought to its knees on September 10 by the most severe flooding in over a decade, which caused catastrophic damage to homes and infrastructure and left a trail of death and destruction.
For years, environmental activists have sounded the alarm, warning that rampant, unchecked development was destroying the island’s natural ability to cope with heavy rainfall, making such disasters inevitable. Now, it seems their dire predictions have tragically come true.
‘Starting this year, yes, there is already an instruction to all heads of districts and mayors across Bali,’ Governor Koster confirmed. ‘We will meet again to ensure no more permits are issued for hotels, restaurants or other facilities on productive land, especially rice fields.’
The move is a stunning reversal for an island whose economy is almost entirely dependent on tourism, but authorities now admit the very thing that draws millions of visitors – its natural beauty – is at risk of being destroyed forever. Locals and tourists alike have long complained about the traffic gridlock, pollution, and badly behaved foreigners that have come with the hotels and resorts that now swamp the island.
A previous attempt to place a moratorium on new hotels failed to get off the ground, but this time, officials insist the ban is here to stay, with new bylaws expected to be in effect by the end of 2025 as part of a radical ‘100-year plan’ for Bali.
Indonesia’s environmental minister, Hanif Faisal Nurofiq, said the deadly floods had been a brutal wake-up call. ‘This is also crucial for Bali’s tourism as the recent flooding has drawn serious attention,’ he said. ‘I actually told the governor last week that I really hope he will immediately stop the land conversions in Bali. This is extremely important.’