Bali plans to ban private beaches as locals, tourists struggle to access shorelines

JAKARTA: Bali is considering a ban on beach privatisation amid growing concerns that commercial development is making it increasingly difficult for locals to access the shoreline, including for important religious ceremonies.

On Nov 17, Governor I Wayan Koster submitted a draft provincial regulation on beach and shoreline protection to the Bali Regional Legislative Council (DPRD) to ensure that public access to the island’s beaches remains protected.

Koster said Bali’s beaches and shorelines are “highly important” for local communities, serving not only as sites for religious rituals but also as spaces for social, cultural and economic activities.

“However, there are increasing reports that commercial development is putting growing pressure on Bali’s beaches as public spaces,” he said during a hearing with local councilors on Nov 17, as quoted by Antara.

“Access to the beach for Segara Kerthi or Pakelem ceremonies is becoming increasingly limited. Some hotel and villa operators are blocking public access, prohibiting residents from performing religious activities or carrying out inappropriate activities on the shoreline during important ceremonies,” Koster added.

Segara Kerthi is a Balinese Hindu ritual to honour and spiritually purify the sea. Meanwhile, Pakelem involves offering items into the ocean to seek harmony, safety and blessings for the community.

Koster said the new provincial regulation aims to “restore Bali’s beaches to their original purpose” and prevent tourism operators near the shore from acting arbitrarily or imposing unjustified restrictions.

“It’s as if those who build hotels or villas think they own the beach and the sea. They dictate what people can and cannot do, even though they only own land near the shore, not the beach or the ocean itself,” he said.

Koster added that the Bali administration and the DPRD plan to deliberate the provincial regulation quickly, with the goal of passing it before the end of 2025.

The 2016 Presidential Regulation on shoreline boundaries states that beaches – defined as land along the shoreline extending at least 100m inland from the highest tide line – are public spaces, belong to the state, and cannot be privatised.

Despite this law, many beachside hotels and villas in popular tourist destinations, including Bali, have often claimed the beaches as private and restricted access to non-customers.

Over the years, there have been several viral instances of tourists being turned away from beaches by hotel management in Bali for alleged “trespassing”.

In 2023, a local tourist said he was asked to leave by a hotel security guard while relaxing at Geger Beach in Nusa Dua. The security guard reportedly claimed that, although the beach does not belong to the hotel, he needed to maintain the “view” for hotel guests.

In 2021, a local Balinese resident was also turned away by security for sitting and playing with her child on a beach behind a hotel in popular tourist hotspot Sanur.

In 2019, a heated altercation occurred in Temukus village, in Buleleng regency, after tourists renting a beachside villa prohibited locals from swimming at the beach.

Commercial development has also disrupted religious ceremonies in Bali.

In October 2024, one of the island’s largest beach clubs, Finns Beach Club, faced massive controversy after hosting a fireworks’ event while residents were performing a religious ceremony at Berawa Beach in North Kuta.

Locals said they informed the club’s management about the ceremony and requested the event be postponed for 30 minutes, but the request was ignored. They also said the fireworks were held on public beaches, not within the club’s property. – The Jakarta Post/ANN