Responsible Travel and Local Awareness in Bali, Indonesia

Bali has long been one of the world’s most visited islands. According to The Jakarta Post (June 2025), tourism contributes nearly 70 percent of Bali’s regional economy. Yet this same success has also brought deep strain in the form of over-development, congestion, water scarcity, and rising tension between tourists and local communities.

Indonesian scholars have described this duality as “the double edge of tourism.” In a 2024 study titled The Impact of Over-Tourism on the Sustainability of Indigenous Peoples in Bali Province, Indonesia, Rizal Akbar Maya Poetra and I Nyoman Nurjaya warn that mass tourism has “reduced traditional practices of indigenous communities and threatens the local wisdom that has long sustained cultural identity.” Their research underscores the fact that tourism can no longer be viewed only as an economic force it must also be treated as a cultural and moral responsibility.

Another recent paper, Assessing the Impacts of Overtourism in Bali (Utama et al., 2024), emphasises the need for balance between development and social stewardship. It argues that economic gain without social and environmental awareness ultimately harms both the community and the visitor experience. This conversation is not only academic. Local community leaders now frequently call for better visitor behaviour, stronger adherence to visa rules, and more respectful conduct in sacred spaces issues that have become daily topics in Balinese media.

To understand responsible travel in Bali, one must first understand Tri Hita Karana, the Balinese philosophy of harmony between three relationships: human beings and the divine, human beings and other human beings, and human beings with nature. As explained by Adhi Wibisana and Dewi (2023) in their paper on Tri Hita Karana as a Concept of Local Wisdom in the Development of Sustainable Tourism in Bali, this philosophy remains the moral backbone of Balinese life.

When travellers live according to these values through modest behaviour, respect for others, and care for the environment they not only adapt successfully but also participate in sustaining Bali’s cultural ecosystem. A 2025 study on co-creation tourism experiences in North Bali found that visitors who actively practiced Tri Hita Karana principles “reported higher satisfaction and a deeper sense of connection with local culture.” In other words, being respectful does not limit the experience it enriches it.

Responsible travel in Indonesia means taking responsibility for yourself first for your information, your actions, and your presence. It means understanding that you are a guest, not a consumer, and that how you behave reflects the image of every foreign visitor after you.

The core of responsible travel is awareness:

• Awareness of where you are on an island with living traditions, not an open resort.

• Awareness of how you dress, especially in temples, schools, government offices, and workplaces.

• Awareness of when to speak, and when to remain quiet.

• Awareness of how your behaviour online photos, captions, and comments can either show respect or ignorance.

As Dewa Gede Mahendra (2024) wrote in his essay on cultural identity and tourism, “To travel responsibly in Bali is to recognise that you move within a living culture not a backdrop created for pleasure, but a society with moral rules and sacred rhythm.”

Before You Travel to Bali

• Learn about Indonesian and Balinese culture. Read a little about local customs, gestures, and dress etiquette. Balinese Hinduism is unique it blends ritual, community, and art in daily life.

• Clarify your visa and purpose. Your stay in Indonesia is legally defined. Working or volunteering outside your authorised activity may cause serious problems.

• Pack intentionally. Confirm the dress code with your host organisation. Business-casual clothing is expected in offices, while modest, breathable wear suits field placements or community programs.

• Adopt the right attitude. The best preparation for Bali is humility be ready to observe and adjust.

While You Are in Bali

• Dress appropriately. Shoulders and knees covered in temples or official places. For internships, avoid beachwear or revealing outfits during work hours.

• Respect sacred and official spaces. Always remove shoes where required, speak softly, and follow local directions.

• Support local businesses. Eat at family-run warungs, shop at local markets, and use local transport services when possible.

• Be a mindful learner. Ask before acting, and do not assume.

• Be careful online. Avoid taking photos of ceremonies or people without permission. Do not turn sacred traditions into content.

• Stay informed. If you do not understand a rule, ask. “I did not know” is not a valid excuse in Indonesian culture.

After You Leave

• Reflect on what you have learned.

• Share your insights responsibly. Encourage others to travel with awareness and empathy.

• Every intern and volunteer who behaves respectfully helps repair the reputation of foreigners in Bali, which has been damaged in recent years by careless visitors.

Behind every postcard view of Bali lies a complex reality. Overdevelopment has reduced green space, rising waste has overwhelmed local waste management systems, and water demand from villas and resorts threatens agriculture. A 2024 study on The Tri Hita Karana Ecotourism Approach for Sustainable Marine Resource Management and Tourism in Baliobserves that “ecotourism can only succeed when guided by local values and community participation.” Yet it also warns that government policy and visitor behaviour often fail to uphold those same values.

In short: the challenge is not Bali’s beauty, but how people behave toward it. As an intern or volunteer abroad in Indonesia, you hold the power to model a different form of tourism one based on understanding rather than entitlement. Responsible travel is a daily practice. It happens in the way you greet an elder with a smile and a small nod; in the way you hand something to another person using your right hand; in how you wait your turn at a counter; in how you lower your voice in temples, schools, and offices. These small acts are not rules for tourists they are gestures of moral awareness that sustain harmony in Balinese society.

As I Gede Raka Sutarya, a lecturer at Udayana University, recently explained during a public discussion on social etiquette, “Respect is not taught as a regulation in Bali it is lived as daily rhythm. Foreign visitors must learn to read that rhythm before they join it.”

Travelling to Bali, Indonesia, for an internship or volunteer program is not merely a geographical journey it is a moral and cultural one. The responsibility lies in how you choose to conduct yourself: how you dress, how you interact, how you listen, and how you learn.

When you align your presence with the spirit of Tri Hita Karana harmony with God, with others, and with nature you become part of a living culture rather than a passing visitor. You protect what makes Bali extraordinary: its balance of beauty, faith, and human warmth.

Responsible travel is not about “giving back.” It is about showing up correctly in behaviour, in humility, and in awareness. And that, more than any souvenir or selfie, is what will make your journey to Bali truly unforgettable.