Bali Jagadhita 2025 focuses on TTI, inclusive growth

Bank Indonesia (BI) and the Bali Provincial Government held the 6th edition of Bali Jagadhita in 2025, an annual event to synergize the trade, investment, and tourism sectors in Bali to support the acceleration of the island's economic growth. Bali Jagadhita was introduced to stimulate the Balinese economy to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic's impact.

The event, which has "Encouraging the Implementation of Sustainable Quality Tourism, Trade, and Investment for Sustainable, Equitable, and Inclusive Balinese Economic Growth," was held at the Dharma Negara Alaya Building in Denpasar City, Bali.

Bank Indonesia Deputy Governor Filianingsih "Fili" Hendarta stated that Bali recorded positive economic performance amid global economic uncertainty and domestic economic slowdown, exceeding the national average of 4.87 percent year-on-year (yoy)  to rise by 5.52 percent yoy.

The economic growth achievement is the 8th highest nationally in the first quarter (Q1) of 2025, and a far cry from Bali's economic contraction amid the pandemic. Moreover, the province's inflation rate was at 2.3 percent as of April 2025, still well within the 2.5±1 percent target.

"Compared to Bali's 6.09 percent yoy average growth rate before the pandemic, it is clear that Bali is on a stronger and more focused path to recovery," said Fili when opening the Bali Jagadhita event on Jun. 2, 2025.

She added that Bali will continue to progress its economic diversification strategy in the long term to realize a more equitable and inclusive prosperity by applying a "Balinese economic paradigm."

"The three main sectors that are the backbone of the transformation are tourism, trade, and investment, or TTI," Fili explained.

However, there are several challenges that must be overcome to implement the strategy. For tourism, around 70 percent of tourism activities are currently still concentrated in southern Bali, especially in the Denpasar metropolitan area, which has begun to have an impact on the quality of tourist visits - with decreasing expectations of the exclusivity of the destination due to the density of visitors.

"On the other hand, the dependence of the trade sector on tourist consumers is still very high. Our study shows that there is a very strong correlation between retail sales and the number of tourists," she elaborated.

Fili noted that access to financing for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) also still needs to be encouraged due to limited growth of MSME loans in the province for Q1 2025. Overall disbursed bank loans in the province grew by 7.25 percent in Q1 2025.

For the investment sector, Fili highlighted how tertiary sector investments still dominate and centered in certain areas, particulary the Denpasar metropolitan area which accounted for 87 percent of investment. Meanwhile, the investment potential outside the metro area has not been optimally developed. Therefore, efforts to broaden investment and develop new tourist destinations are necessary to expand the benefits of development more equitably.

"Although it still faces various structural challenges, Bali's tourism sector has shown encouraging performance. In Q1 2025, the number of foreign tourist visits to Bali has not only recovered, but has exceeded the achievements during the pandemic. This is an indication that Bali remains the world's favorite destination," she said.

The largest number of foreign tourist visits are still dominated by tourists from Australia, China, India, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. Each of them has made a significant contribution to tourism recovery.

"This momentum is something that we must continue to maintain. In addition to increasing the number of visits, we also need to ensure that the quality of the tourist experience is maintained by building destinations that are more exclusive, environmentally friendly, and based on local culture," he explained.

Furthermore, Fili explained digitalization of the payment system is a very crucial instrument in supporting the acceleration of Bali's economic recovery and transformation.