Tourism and cultural change in Bali

One of the main negative effects of tourism, especially in developing countries is the possible destruction of the culture of the host societies. A cultural (and ecological) sustainable development for Ball based on tourism is endangered by the quantity of tourists visiting the country. Complete commercialisation, it is feared, will lead to the destruction of Balinese culture - one of the major assets making Ball attractive to tourists. Many aspects of Balinese culture are being rapidly changed by the effects of tourism, such as the increasingly tourist oriented arts and crafts sector. This study shows, however, that this has not led to the destruction but rather to a vitalisation of important cultural goods. The Balinses were able to maintain their ccultural identity, in part due to the fact that they were able to protect their type of Hinduism from commercialisation and profanation. To a large degree, the cultural change which has been brought on by tourism only affects the superficial structure whereas it is hard to detect a negative impact of tourism on the cultural basis, i.e. the religion.