Destinations known | New Trump hotel in Bali draws attention to island’s impending water crisis, environmental impact of tourism industry
- Developments, such as one bearing the American president’s name, can help draw attention to the ways the tourism sector is sucking the Indonesian island dry
Like many projects bearing the Trump name, the resort, billed to become the largest on the island and the Trump Hotel Collection’s first property in Asia, has met with resistance.
The “six-star” resort and 18-hole golf course will occupy a cliff-top site previously home to the Pan Pacific Nirwana Bali, which boasts sweeping views across the Indian Ocean and one of Bali’s most important temples, Tanah Lot. The original plot’s 103 hectares did not suffice, so MNC approached local landowners with the intention of expanding the development. A documentary produced by the Australian Broadcasting Company, which aired in July 2017, claimed that most were reluctant to sell their land; some emphatically refused to do so.
Still, that seemed of little import, MNC insisting in a statement, “Our land acquisition process has not encountered any problems or issues beyond the regular negotiations when dealing with land owners in Bali.” Judging by the group’s website, which describes a 108-hectare development (an increase of just five hectares), it would appear that those “regular negotiations” proved far from fruitful.
However, that wasn’t the only hurdle. There are also concerns that the resort will overshadow nearby Tanah Lot, both literally and figuratively. Balinese custom dictates that no building should exceed the height of the tallest coconut tree for fear of angering the gods, and while there is no evidence to suggest that Trump International Hotel and Tower Bali will surpass such a height, its name and association with a US president known for ostentation rather than restraint suggest otherwise.
