Karangasem tourism eases in 2026 as Candidasa coastal works weigh on visits

Amlapura — Tourism businesses in Karangasem report a noticeable softening in visitor numbers in 2026 compared with 2025, with Candidasa singled out as one of the regency’s most affected areas. The local chapter of the Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants Association (PHRI) estimates a decline of close to 20 percent, while official tourism data point to a smaller drop on a like-for-like basis.

PHRI Karangasem chairman I Wayan Kariasa told IDN Times that visits to Karangasem had fallen by almost 20 percent compared with last year, describing 2025 as a peak period for the regency’s tourism. He cited several factors, including major coastal works in Candidasa, global geopolitical tensions affecting long-haul travel and competing spending priorities related to the football World Cup.

Official figures reported by Detik and Radar Bali show Karangasem recorded 688,945 visits from January through August 2026, with foreign tourists accounting for 552,089 and domestic visitors 138,856. The head of Karangasem’s culture and tourism office, I Putu Eddy Surya Artha, said that the first semester of 2026 saw about 520,000 visits, down from around 610,000 in the same period of 2025. On that comparison, the decline for the first half of the year is roughly 15 percent, below the “almost 20 percent” estimated by PHRI.

Surya Artha also noted that the high season in 2026 had been weaker than expected, despite foreign visitors still dominating the market. He said that, based on his recollection of last year’s data, the semester-on-semester fall confirmed a downward trend in arrivals.

Candidasa works and visitor profile

Kariasa identified Candidasa as the area most affected by the slowdown, pointing to extensive coastal conservation and improvement works along the shore. According to his comments reported by IDN Times, the project stretches for around six kilometres between Candidasa and Buitan and has generated construction noise and other disturbances that reduce comfort for guests during the work period.

Separate reporting describes the initiative as the Candidasa Beach Conservation Project (BBCP) Phase II, a large-scale scheme launched by the Karangasem administration to protect and upgrade about 5.5–5.6 kilometres of coastline. The programme includes revetment structures to counter beach erosion, pedestrian paths and public facilities, and is being implemented with technical support from national agencies such as Balai Wilayah Sungai (BWS) Bali Penida.

Detik has reported that the coastal project, which began in early 2025, carries a budget of more than Rp 500 billion and is targeted for completion in November 2027.

Tourism office data underline Karangasem’s reliance on international visitors. Radar Bali reported that foreign tourists accounted for roughly 80 percent of the 688,945 visits recorded from January to August 2026. Tirta Gangga was identified as the leading attraction, drawing 258,069 visits in that period, with other popular sites including Lempuyang Temple and Besakih Temple.

Kariasa said many of Karangasem’s guests come from Europe, and in a separate interview earlier this year he linked weaker demand to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, which he said had prompted cancellations and heightened risk perceptions among international travellers. However, neither PHRI nor the tourism office has released detailed airline or booking data to quantify the impact.

Recovery efforts and data gaps

To help revive demand, PHRI Karangasem is preparing an international running event expected to be held toward the end of 2026, although details such as the exact date, course and sponsor lineup have not yet been announced. The tourism office is targeting at least last year’s total of around 1.28 million visits by the end of 2026, based on earlier reporting that 2025 saw 1,280,969 tourist visits to the regency.

Reaching that goal would require adding roughly half a million visits in the remainder of the year, assuming consistent measurement of arrivals. Officials and industry leaders therefore emphasise the need to balance short-term inconvenience from the Candidasa works with the longer-term benefits of improved coastal infrastructure.

The available public data confirm that Karangasem’s tourism performance in 2026 is weaker than in 2025, but they do not isolate the impact of any single factor. Construction in Candidasa, global geopolitical risks and shifting travel budgets all feature in stakeholders’ explanations, while strong visitor numbers at flagship sites such as Tirta Gangga have not fully offset softer demand elsewhere in the regency.

Sources

• IDN Times Bali
• Radar Bali (Jawapos)
• Detik Bali
• Bali Post
• RRI Denpasar
• Viva Bali