A Qualitative Case Study of Overtourism vs. Regenerative Tourism in Bali, Indonesia

Abstract

Introduction: The booming tourism in Bali has further fuelled the debate on overtourism, destruction of the environment, commercialisation of cultures, and the rising pressure on available resources that require destination management strategies beyond traditional sustainability planning. This study seeks to critically address governance, community engagement, and environmental management practices as a way of transitioning overtourism into regenerative tourism in Bali. Methodology: Semi-structured interviews were conducted, as study adopted a qualitative case study design, with 24 purposively selected stakeholders. Thematic analysis led to four themes: tourism growth and impacts, community involvement and empowerment, regenerative practices and implementation challenges, and policies and governance. Results: The results indicate that stakeholders are positive about regenerative tourism, yet weak governance coordination, limited institutional capacity, and insufficient financial resources, and intensive tourism limit its implementation. Conclusion: The study contributed to the regenerative tourism literature as it illustrates that regenerative tourism is a governance change and not an environmental intervention. The results note that adaptive governance, stakeholder engagement, cultural management of the tourism destination, and long-term planning are important in improving tourism resilience and sustainability in Bali.