Source: The Guardian
BY Hannah Ellis-Petersen South-east Asia correspondent
Authorities in Bali have vowed to stop westerners in bikinis posing in front of sacred temples as they lament a decline in the “quality of tourists” visiting the island.
Bali deputy governor Tjokorda Oka Artha Sukawati, known as Cok Ace, said the authorities had been concerned by a recent rise in disrespectful behaviour by tourists visiting Bali’s hundreds of sacred Hindu sites.
“This is the government’s attempt to maintain the Pura [temples],” said Cok Ace at a regional council meeting this week. “The temples need to be preserved since they are the spirits of Bali’s cultures and customs.”
He said in the coming weeks they would be re-evaluating the system that allows tourists to visit temples unaccompanied.
Categories: Asia, Indonesia, The Muslim Times, Tourism