(2/17/2012)
The Gianyar regency in Bali has taken the bold step of banning condotel investments, closing the door on the local development of condotels mushrooming in other parts of Bali in their region.
The Jakarta Post, quotes the Gianyar Regent Anak Agung Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati, saying: “We have decided to ban the development of condotels or apartments in our region. The policy was made to control physical development, as well as protecting our local entrepreneurs.”
Condotels and managed apartments have become a popular way of financing new accommodation developments in Bali. These project have also provided a loophole by which developers can sidestep the moratorium on new hotel developments announced by Governor Made Mangku Pastika in 2011.
Gianyar regency is home to the cultural center of Ubud and, like its neighboring regency of Badung and municipality of Denpasar, is largely dependent on tourism to drive its economy.
Sukawati sees condotels as threatening to marginalize the Balinese, with the purchasers of such units almost uniformly originating from areas outside Bali.
According to The Jakarta Post, most businesses in Ubud remain owned by natives of Ubud. Sukawati, a member of a royal household, owns several hotels in Ubud. Gianyar has some 7,000 hotel rooms.
The former head of the Bali Tourism Board, Bagus Sudibya, is calling on the government to regulate land ownership in Bali in favor of the Balinese. Sudibya suggests: “Instead of easily offering their land for sale, they can offer their land for rent. An administrative regulation is needed to support this,” said Bagus.
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