its beach resorts, precisely because Balinese culture itself was unique and exotic in visitor’s eyes differentiated by the many cultures in the Indonesian archipelago.
The literature Wall 1996
; Cohen 1994
also informs us of the existence of a belief system between nature and the Balinese. Due to this established relation,
hotel developments and other major developments in Bali have either been thwarted, become controversial, or needed extensive appeasement efforts to overcome the
acquisition of land and initiate development. Two examples of projects that were mired in such controversies are a hotel development in close proximity to the sacred
Tanah Lot Temple and the towering statue of Wisnu at The Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park. These controversies partly stem from beliefs that such constructions
might upset the spiritual balance of the island of Gods [a synonym for Bali]. As Bell
1992 laments about another challenge that haunts many popular destinations, that
is, at times Bali can be also over crowded by tourists and affect the authenticity of cultural performances and the hospitality industry services. Hence, the island para-
dise as we often come to know is not all devoid of internal challenges. Thus far, resort development as a topic in Vietnam is scarce. Jansen-Verbeke and
Go 1995
and Lam 1996
had earlier on identifi ed the need for the Vietnamese government to take a lead in charting a development path to optimize tourism bene-
fi ts. Thirumaran et al. 2014
studied the challenges of Vietnam presenting a consoli- dated brand-souvenir to market the country better. They emphasize the importance of
identifying a representative souvenir in an early stage of Vietnam’s tourism develop- ment. Suntikul et al.
2008 point out the need for different policy bearings on visa,
transport, and marketing and ways in which the industry and tourists may be impacted. The authors argue that more liberalization in these three segments is needed to further
advance tourism development and arrivals. In these respects, this chapter’s examina- tion of Phu Quoc’s island further contributes to the literature on Vietnam’s tourism
development and as a reference for policy makers in view of the challenges that portend as the island’s growth is carefully managed in the twenty-fi rst century.
6.3 Methodology
Instead of a direct comparative analysis, this paper presents lessons discerned from an established destination – Bali and attempts to examine an emerging destination –
Phu Quoc to understand ways in which the latter can progress as it transforms itself into a major international resort destination. The Vietnamese government in 2012
designated the island as part of coastal economic zone and expected to charter infra- structure developments to the tune of over US385 million by 2015 Viet Nam
News
2012a . With land use based rentals and extensive road developments, Phu
Quoc is well on the way to be a major international tourists’ hub. This pattern of development resembles Bali in the 1960s and 1970s, hence a reasonable choice for
comparison with Phu Quoc. Bali is selected to elicit tourism development lessons since the island is one of the
most formidable resort destinations in Southeast Asia having survived a series of threats over the years and enjoying an important position in Indonesia’s tourism and
balitrulyyahoo.com
MICE hosting center. Bali’s success is extensive to the extent that many interna- tional, political, economic, and environmental meetings are hosted in Bali, making
it almost the second capital after Jakarta. Despite known widely as a popular cultural destination, the island remains a strong attraction for sun seekers and beach surfers
coming from mostly Western source markets. It is these beach tourist segments that this chapter explores the lessons appropriate for implementation in Phu Quoc.
Fischer 2012
argues that islands need not develop to the extent that they lose their identity and become the Manhattan or Hong Kong in an attempt to engage in a
cosmopolitan life or transform into a purely tourists’ island. In this sense, Bali has managed to contain for the most part of tourist activities in designated areas without
intruding much into the living space of the ordinary Balinese. Agriculture though has been increasingly displaced by tourism; there is still a degree of continuity in
the fi sheries and agricultural sector. This is another reason; the island of Gods is selected for Phu Quoc’s emulation.
In this reference-comparative study, focusing on lessons that could be learned follows the call by Pearce
1993 to further advance the fi eld to draw out a contrast
between two cases. Based mainly on secondary sources such as existing literature and news articles, a number of lessons are drawn on the areas of Bali ’s tourism
development. These areas of interests include infrastructure, hospitality policy or practices, and land-related development issues. A paragon of development model or
master plan always runs into multi-sector issues as it does with a variety of socio- cultural links Prideaux
2009 . Thus, as we use Bali as a reference point, Phu Quoc
is analyzed contextually within the conditions on the island and Vietnam’s national designs to promote tourism.
6.4 Bali : An Indonesian Tourism Project
