Bali rebuilds its tourist industry

Abstract

The 1950s is a gap in the usual studies of tourism in Bali, but this was a crucial decade for rebuilding the tourist industry after World War II and the Indonesian Revolution, and for establishing a post-colonial industry. The reconstruction of the tourist industry drew on Dutch attempts to rebuild tourism during the 1940s. The process of reconstruction required the creation of a souvenir industry, in which Balinese women entrepreneurs played a key role, the building of networks of hotels, and the recreation of tourist itineraries. Paradoxically, the leaders in rebuilding the industry were leading figures on the Republican side during the Indonesian Revolution, but relied on Dutch precedents and patterns. The 1950s represented an optimistic period of relative autonomy, before the centralised control of the New Order government came into play.