Cases Of Badminton Blue Expressing The Risk Of Governance Of Bali Tourism And The Underground Industry

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA The arrest of an adult film actress from England, totaling Blue (27) at a villa in Pererenan, Canggu, has again highlighted the vulnerability of Bali tourism governance.

The incident that dragged 17 people was considered to have opened old findings regarding the potential production activity of hidden adult content that utilizes tourism properties on the Island of the Gods.

Tourism actors and founder of tourism monitoring platform Hey Bali Giostanovlatto said this case shows that there is an underground industry that has been operating for quite a long time.

The task force only confirms what we have been monitoring for a long time. This is an organized industry that takes advantage of surveillance loopholes," he said.

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A few months before efforts were arrested, the Hey Bali investigative team obtained a memory card containing a raw footage produced by an adult film allegedly made at a luxury villa.

The content shows foreign models, professional crews, and the use of typical Bali views as a setting.

Similar findings also emerged in the collaborative investigation of Hey Bali and local journalists in August 2025. The pattern repetitively: the perpetrators came as tourists, moved villas in a short time, worked in a small team, and used compact production equipment. However, the initial report is said to have received no adequate response from related parties.

Tourism actors assess that the proliferation of content production like this can threaten Bali's reposition as a cultural and family destination.

"If Bali is labeled as the shooting location for adult films, the impact will be on the image of tourism. Recovery can take a long time," said Giostanovlatto.

Apart from reputation, there are economic consequences for local business actors. Many residents rent out villas, vehicles, or supporting services without knowing the purpose of the tenant.

If production activities violate the law, local service providers are at risk of being dragged into the crime as well as experiencing reputation losses.

At the macro level, weak supervision can also pose a risk of governance for the accommodation and tourism sector.

Illegal activities can erode investor confidence and cause additional costs for affected property owners.

According to analysis of Hey Bali, there are several factors that make cases of Goodminton easier to detect than production, namely, their activities are exhibited openly on social media, their status as public figures with large followers, a striking production scale and attracting the attention of local residents.

"Other products are usually much more careful, not very visible, and move in small teams," he said.

Hey Bali claimed to have submitted investigative data to the authorities, but has not seen any significant follow-up. Public questions now lead to the effectiveness of law enforcement and the ability of related institutions to identify larger production networks.

"Will the action only be taken when the case goes viral? Or is there a systemic step to improve supervision?" said Giostanovlatto.

The Momentum For Governance Improvements

The Good Blue case is now entering the legal process. However, industry players assess that this momentum needs to be used to strengthen the governance of the tourism sector, starting from the supervision of villas and private property, short-term rental regulations, to education property owners regarding the risk of illegal activities.

Without improvement, Bali is considered to remain vulnerable to becoming a global adult content production site, which in turn can affect tourism competitiveness and economic confidence in the accommodation sector.