Live from Bali: How tourists, influencers, and nomads transform destinations (for good and for bad)

Deviate with Rolf Potts

“Influencers are forever reinforcing the same images. They’re spending no time in the actual place, other than the requisite time to take the photo. From the local community’s point of view, these kinds of tourists bring very little value.” –Stuart McDonald

In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Stuart talk about why Stuart chose to make his office in West Bali, and why South Bali has developed something of a bad reputation in terms of over-tourism (2:30); the mythos of Bali, how it became a “dreamscape” in the Western consciousness, and how it has changed in recent years (6:30); why certain areas in Bali become over-touristed, and how it has recently been affected by “influencers” (18:00); how black magic and ghosts are part of the belief systems of Balinese, yet few travelers ascertain this (24:00); and how much social-media travel content leaves out essential cultural context (31:00).

Stuart McDonald (@travelfishery) is the co-founder of Travelfish.org, a travel planning website covering Southeast Asia, which he launched in 2014. He has been traveling in that part of the world since 1993, and living there since 1997.

Notable Links:

• The Vagabond’s Way, by Rolf Potts (book)
• Bali Hai Immigrant Song (YouTube mashup)
• Dutch presence in Bali (colonialist history)
• Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert (book)
• Canggu (coastal village in Bali)
• Fly-in fly-out [FIFO] (term for temporary laborers)
• Digital nomads (remote workers who travel)
• Lonely Planet (travel guidebook publisher)
• Infinity pool (type of swimming pool)
• National Geographic (magazine)
• GetYourGuide (tour company)
• Gates of Heaven (photogenic temple in Bali)
• Balinese sacred textiles
• Kastom (Melanesian traditional culture)
• Kava (sedative drink in Melanesia)
• Listicle (article structured as a list)
• Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture, by Kyle Chayka (book)
• Externality (indirect economic cost)

This episode of Deviate is also brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. If you’ve ever planned a trip with multiple stops, you know that finding the right flights can be difficult. Between balancing travel logistics and cost, it often becomes impossible to build an itinerary that matches your travel goals. AirTreks is a distributed travel company with employees working from all corners of the world to help with your flight planning, specializing in complex routes with up to 25 stops. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, but can customize to fit your journey.

The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber.

Note: We don’t host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at [e-mail].