Bali's Property Market Shifts from 'Old Luxury' to 'Neo Luxury': Sustainability Takes Center Stage

In recent years, Bali has undergone a transformation from a purely tourist destination into a cross-border ecosystem of economy, lifestyle, and investment. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated this shift, as work became increasingly detached from physical location, giving Bali a new role as a place to live, work, invest, and build a lifestyle identity. Phenomena such as digital nomads, remote workers, lifestyle migrants, and international investors have broadened the definition of who comes to Bali and for what purpose.

Statistics show that Bali received 6,948,754 direct foreign tourist visits throughout 2025, up 9.72% from 2024. Australia remained the largest source market, accounting for 23.44% of total visitors. Meanwhile, the Bali Provincial Central Statistics Agency recorded a cumulative total of 3,203,156 foreign tourist arrivals in the first half (January–June) of 2026. Although this represents a slight year-on-year decline of 2.42%, monthly trends toward mid-2026 continue to show steady recovery and strengthening.

This scale of human mobility is significant for the tourism industry, as it creates a new demand ecosystem for accommodation, housing, hospitality, wellness, workspaces, and ultimately property. In other words, tourists are not always just tourists—some eventually become long-term renters, investors, homeowners, entrepreneurs, or part of the international community settling in Bali.

This shift has occurred alongside the development of a legal framework for foreign residential ownership. Government Regulation No. 18 of 2021 stipulates that foreigners holding appropriate immigration documents may own houses or residential properties. Among other things, the regulation opens up a scheme for landed houses under Right to Use (Hak Pakai), including Right to Use over Right of Ownership (Hak Milik) through a right-of-use granting agreement.