The Bali Post highlights the problem, reporting that people straying onto some beach fronts at Nusa Dua are turned back by security personnel who warn that only hotel guests are allowed access to the beach front. And while some beach visitors protest, correctly insisting that all beaches are open to public access in Bali, the security guards remain steadfast in barring their passage.
Protest from local citizens have prompted the chairman of the Bali chapter of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association to issue a statement, saying: “The beach belongs to the public and cannot be closed or controlled by anyone. What’s more, there is the impression that several hotels who are subdividing the beachfront, something they cannot do. The beach is for the enjoyment of the public at all times. The public can visit any beach at any time.”
While many hotels optimize their use of the beach panorama afforded by their location and place lounge chairs up and down the beach that give the mistaken impression of exclusive control and ownership of the beach. While in reality the beach belongs the undisputed right of all people in Bali to enjoy.
The PHRI-Bali chairman expressed the belief that hotels laying more than their rightful claim on their beachfront can, in fact, be encountered in many areas of Bali, not just in Nusa Dua.