Governor I Wayan Koster submitted a draft provincial regulation on beach and shoreline protection to the Bali Regional Legislative Council on Nov. 17, aiming to ensure that public access to the island’s beaches remains protected, Jakarta Post reported.

Koster emphasized that Bali’s beaches and shorelines are highly important for local communities, serving not only as sites for religious rituals but also for social, cultural, and economic activities.

However, there are increasing reports that commercial development is putting growing pressure on Bali’s beaches as public spaces, he said during a hearing with local councilors, as quoted by Antara News Agency.

Some hotel and villa operators are blocking public access, preventing residents and tourists from performing religious activities or carrying out important ceremonies, Koster added.

The 2016 Presidential Regulation on shoreline boundaries defines beaches, land along the shoreline extending at least 100 meters inland from the highest tide line, as public spaces that belong to the state and cannot be privatized.

Despite this law, many beachside hotels and villas in popular tourist destinations, including Bali, have often claimed beaches as private, restricting access to non-guests.

Several incidents over the years have gone viral online, showing tourists being turned away from beaches by hotel staff for alleged “trespassing.”

In 2023, a local tourist said he was asked to leave Geger Beach in Nusa Dua by a hotel security guard who claimed he needed to preserve the view for hotel guests, even though the beach does not belong to the hotel.

Between January and September 2025, Bali welcomed 5.3 million international tourists, an 11.5% increase compared to the same period in the previous year.