Destination Management Solution Post COVID-19: Best Practice from Bali – A World Cultural Tourism Destination

Bali tourism faces a great threat from the pandemic issue. COVID-19 causes a sharp decline of domestic and international tourist arrivals since many countries issued travel bans. All tourism sites in Bali are closed for tourists during the pandemic as ordered by the governing law. The research investigates the solution planned and applied by the cultural tourism destination managements during and post pandemic and understands how cultural tourism in Bali adapts the new norm tourismscape from the locals' and tourists' perspectives. The research uses qualitative method wherein the data were collected in two Hindu temples in Bali namely Goa Lawah and Tirta Empul, where tourists regularly gaze at authentic cultural tourist attractions through field observations, face-to-face interviews with tourism sites managers and tourists who purposely selected to ensure they understand the case. The data were triangulated by comparing and contrasting the informant's viewpoints to understand the case. The research finds that tourism site managements have applied the international health procedures prepared by management through intensive workshops and trainings to develop their competencies dealing with tourists during and post pandemic. This research claims that collaborative managements involving temple management, pecalang, police and soldiers have been dynamically adapted in mitigating the risks of COVID-19 outbreaks within the temple sites during the pandemic which distinct from the mainstream managements.