Physical Education Essays School Sports

Physical Education Essays School Sports Introduction Physical education has been a central component of the national education system since its first implementation in public schools in the late 19th century. Incorporation of physical activity into schools is believed to offer a range of physical, psychological and social benefits and the National Curriculumcontains policy, based on research by the British Heart Foundation and independent education researchers, for physical education and sport promotion amongst the nations youth. This policy has generally been effective in helping students increase their physical activity levels and meet national guidelines. However, this policy is lacking in some ways and metrics for evaluating the success of the regions physical education programme are somewhat limited. The purpose of this essay is to review existing evidence regarding physical education in schools. The benefits of physical activity for children will first be considered, followed by a review of the National Curriculums policy on physical education. The efficacy of this policy will then be discussed, highlighting any evidence evaluating this relationship. Limitations to existing policy will then be presented, and recommendations for future research and practice will be provided. This essay concludes with a brief summary and outline of key points. Benefits of Physical Activity for Children The UK public education system had upheld a tradition of physical activity promotion within its schools, as well as recognised the multiple benefits of regular exercise on educational outcomes. These beliefs are based on empirical research, of which the benefits of physical activity for health and well-being have been widely documented (see Hills et al., 2011). These benefits appear to impact three broad dimensions of well-being in youth, including physical, psychological and social dimensions (Metcalf, Henley Wilkin, 2012). These three dimensions combine to determine an individuals Quality of Life (QoL), or an individuals subjective standard of happiness and general life satisfaction (Hills, Andersen Byrne, 2011). QoL has become an increasingly targeted outcome variable in public health and medical interventions due to its strong correlation with physical health (Hills et al., 2011). Numerous empirical studies (e.g., Marmot et al., 2012; Metcalf et al., 2012) have demonstrated that improved QoL is associated with reduced disease and illness, as well as reduced healthcare costs associated with treating such conditions. Including physical education in schools has, therefore, been recognised as a productive means of promoting exercise and healthy lifestyle habits from a young age (Hills et al., 2011). A recent review of the health benefits of physical activity and fitness for school-aged youth demonstrated that even moderate amounts of daily exercise led to numerous positive outcomes amongst youth population members (Janssen Le Blanc, 2010). Based on a review of 86 papers yielding 113 intervention outcomes, this study demonstrated that physical activity was associated with moderate-to-strong positive effects on blood cholesterol, blood pressure, metabolic syndrome, obesity, bone density, psychological depression and physical injury (Janssen Le Blanc, 2010). Furthermore, physical activity was associated with a dose-response effect, whereby children who received more exercise experienced greater benefit (Janssen Le Blanc, 2010). Finally, this study demonstrated that exercise of vigorous intensities yielded greater benefits, while aerobic activities were associated with the strongest effect on bone density. Based on these findings, it was recommended that children aged 5 to 17 years old accumulate at least 60 minutes daily of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (Janssen LeBlanc, 2010). Furthermore, Level 2 students are believed to benefit from even higher exercise intensities, while all children in this age group should continue to include weight-bearing and resistance training activities that promote bone and muscular strength (Janssen Le Blanc, 2010). An increasing body of research has demonstrated the positive effects of more vigorous exercise intensities, and health professionals and sports scientists alike are incorporating high-intensity interval training into their program designs (Janssen Le Blanc, 2010). These findings confirm several previous studies (e.g., Craggs et al., 2011; Metcalf et al., 2012) regarding the positive physical effects of physical activity for physical outcomes, and Janssen and LeBlancs (2010) physical activity recommendations provide more rigorous guidelines than those of the National Health Service NHS (2013). Physical activity is also associated with social benefits that can improve QoL in children (Hills et al., 2011). From an early age, physical activity plays a key role in the socialisation process of young students, who engage in play activities as a means of understanding social dynamics such as observation, modelling, sharing, social reciprocity, social exchange, gender roles and more (Brockman et al., 2011). As children reach later stages of their academic careers, involvement in sports and non-competitive activities serve as a key social outlet for children to continue to understand social processes and develop social skills needed to function in both the academic and professional environment (Hills et al., 2011). Continuing to encourage the play aspect of physical activity appears to be an important means by whichto ensure continued participation and prevent the natural decline in physical activity that typically occurs around the ages of 10 to 11 (Brockman et al., 2011). Finally, physical activity offers psychological benefits, both with respect to general affect and cognitive capacity (Craggs et al., 2011). A recent review of physical activity interventions for American children (i.e., Tomporowski, Lamnbourne Okumura, 2011) demonstrated that consistent exercise of moderate-to-vigorous intensities was effective for promoting emotional and intellectual development. Exercise is particularly effective for enhancing executive functioning (Tomporowski et al., 2011). Biddle and Asare (2011) performed a similar review of physical activity studies with British children, demonstrating that physical activity had strong positive effects on reducing depression, with a small effect shown for reducing anxiety. However, interventions conducted specifically with children from the UK remain somewhat limited, with authors finding just nine interventions that met inclusion criteria (Biddle Asare, 2011). Findings related to improved cognition within these children as a result of physical activity are somewhat inconsistent, although there is some evidence (e.g., Craggs et al., 2011) of improved cognitive performance and academic achievement resulting from physical activity of various modalities. Although the physiological route by which these benefits take place is not fully understood, the effects of exercise on cognitive functioning may result from the release of neurochemicals, such as serotonin and dopamine, that regulate mood and clarify cognitive processes (Craggs et al., 2011). These activities may also enhance self-efficacy for physical activity, an affective state that may transfer to cognitive activities as well (Best, 2010). As technology develops, research is expected to match physical activity designs with benefits (Craggs et al., 2011). National Curriculums Policy on Physical Education Due to the extensive documentation of the benefits of physical activity, the National Curriculum has implemented policy on physical education for more than one century (Bouchard, Blair Haskell, 2012. A new National Curriculum is currently being designed for UK schools that will allow for more flexibility in programme design and offers a slimmer framework (Association for Physical Education, 2014). However, concepts from the former policy will still be incorporated into the new framework, including basic outlines for educational principles at key stages of learning and development. The policy currently segregates physical activity needs for students in Key Stages 1 and 2 versus those in Key Stages 3 and 4 (Gov.UK, 2013). However, the policy recognises that high-quality physical education is needed to promote full psychological, social and physical development, and the National Curriculum encourages engagement in sports and physical activities throughout all stages (Gov.UK, 2013). Furthermore, the curriculum assesses competency in physical activities, rather than just participation, in order to ensure that students know and apply skills learned within physical education courses and incorporates physical activity into their daily lives (Bouchard et al., 2012). At Key Stage 1, the National Curriculum recommends that students develop fundamental movement skills, become increasing competent and confident and access a broad range of opportunities to extend their agility, balance, and coordination, individually and with others (Gov.UK, 2013 p. 1). During this stage, pupils are encouraged to engage in both competition and non-competitive activities and become involved in increasingly challenging activities (Gov.UK, 2013). Finally, pupils within this stage are encouraged to learn basic movement skills that promote coordination and development of general motor programs, participate in team games, and perform activities that require simpler movement patterns (Gov.UK, 2013). At Key Stage 2, the National Curriculum recommends that students continue to apply and develop a broader range of skills, learning how to use them in different ways and to link them to make actions and sequences of movement (Gov.UK, 2013, p. 1). The National Curriculum encourages students to participate in activities that promote communication, collaboration, and the development of self-monitoring and self-evaluation of skills (Gov.UK, 2013). Additionally, students at this stage are encouraged to increasingly participate in competitive activities, develop flexibility, strength, technique, control and balance and perform activities with more complex movement patterns (Gov.UK, 2013). Comparing performance against peers and national standards is also recommended at this stage (Gov.UK, 2013). Swimming and water safety skills are introduced at Key Stage 1 or Key Stage 2. At Key Stage 3, the National Curriculum recommends that students build on and embed the physical development and skills learned in Key stages 1 and 2, become more competent, confident and expert in their techniques, and apply them across different sports and physical activities (Gov.UK, 2013, p. 1). During this stage, students are encouraged to use a range of different techniques and methods to compete against opponents, continue to improve performance based on peers and national standards, take part in increasingly difficult and novel situations, and engage in non-school sport activities (Gov.UK, 2013). Additionally, educators are encouraged to continue to foster confidence through personal mastery of tasks and improvements in comparison with individual and national standards (Gov.UK, 2013). In Key Stage 4, the National Curriculum recommends that students tackle complex and demanding physical activities (Gov.UK, 2013, p. 1). At this stage, students have generally learned to become more independent and have ideally developed self-monitoring skills to continue to direct their own sport and interest physical activity participation (Gov.UK, 2013). During Key Stage 4, students are taught to develop multiple tactics and strategies to use in competitive situations, continue to master techniques of chosen sports or activities, take part in adventurous activities that require complex decision-making, and take part in both school and non-school-related physical activities (Gov.UK, 2013). This curriculum has guided physical education pedagogy for several years, although recent reform has led to some structural changes that are discussed in more detail below. Efficacy of National Curriculum Policy The National Curriculums policy on physical education draws from contemporary development research and is believed to offer an efficacious guideline for individual schools to follow in their programme designs (Standage et al., 2012). As the 2013 policy has been submitted for revision, the 2014 framework is being implemented to provide even greater freedom and flexibility for schools in their physical education delivery and curriculum model designs (Haerens et al., 2011). According to the Association for Physical Education (2014), this increased flexibility will be even more evident in primary schools, and places a higher level of responsibilityon teachers to be experts in their subject matter and pedagogical approach toward physical education (Association for Physical Education, 2014). Such a policy is hoped to place more power in the hands of educators and schools to include programmes they believe will be beneficial for their student populous. Though the National Curriculum is believed to be an efficacious and thorough policy that allows for individuality and creativityon the part of teachers to understand their own students needs, the effects of this policy remain to be seen. The former policy had previously been criticised for its limited evaluative efforts and sometimes ambiguous effects on key learning outcomes (Evans, 2004). According to a report by Evans (2004), the UKs former policy on physical education contained antiquated concepts regarding the development of physical abilities, and argued that the policy promoted exclusive practices for students less apt toward exercise in some respects. In a 2005 study related to the former UK physical education policy, Fairclough and Stratton (2005) found that physical education for students aged 11 to 14 was effective for increasing physical activity in students who were of high academic ability, while students of low- to moderate- academic ability did not increase their physical activity levels in response to physical education programmes. Thorburn, Jess and Atencio (2011) challenged the common conception that physical education programmes contribute to the well-being of students. Based on a review of Scottish physical education programmes, these authors concluded that individual curriculums often produced contrasting effects in student such as those found in Fairclough and Strattons (2005) research. While high-achieving students appear to benefit from this curriculum, such policy may promote exclusiveness in students of differing academic abilities (Thorburn et al., 2011). As a result, physical education may actually detract from the well-being of marginalised student groups. While studies (e.g., Janssen LeBlanc, 2010; Standage et al., 2012) have demonstrated that increased physical activity has been associated with reduced obesity and increased educational outcomes, the precise relationship between physical education policy and these benefits is less clear. Geyer (2012) criticised former education policy for its strong centralist nature and auditing approach toward education improvements. Therefore, allowing for greater flexibility amongst individual schools to assess needs and design a curriculum that most effectively meets those needs is believed to be a significant improvement over former policy (Geyer, 2012). Additional, more stringent evaluative strategies amongst individual schools may allow for less of an auditing approach toward improving physical education outcomes and more of a proactive approach that anticipates changing needs amongst diverse student groups (Geyer, 2012). Limitations to Existing Policy Though the National Curriculum for physical education is based on evidence and has recognised the widespread benefits of physical activity for UK student population members, some limitations exist that have warranted changes within the new policy. In addition to the lack of evidence regarding its efficacy, as well as the centralised and auditory approach toward addressing improvements in the system, the curriculum has been criticised for a lack of clarity and a lack of awareness by parents and teachers as to how to properly implement existing policy (Haerens et al., 2011). For example, Haerens et al. (2011) showed that many teachers lack a clear understanding of the specific goals and outcomes of the National Curriculum at each Key Stage, or suggest that these outcomes do not match the needs of their particular institution. This limitation will ideally be addressed by decentralising the new curriculum and placing more power of design into the hands of teachers within the UK education system (Geyer, 2012). Additionally, parents have been shown to generally lack awareness about key outcomes associated with each stage of development in UK educational pedagogy (Kirk, 2014). This is unfortunate, as parents play a pivotal role in regulating the extracurricular activities of children, and their involvement in promoting physical activity is crucial to capitalising on the inclusion of physical education in schools (Kirk, 2014). Implementation challenges have plagued previous UK physical education policy, and parents may help overcome this barrier (Zhu, Ennis Chen, 2011).There have been contextual constraints among schools limiting fitness science learning in the academic environment, as well as discrepancies in personal values toward physical education as a key component to a science-based educational program (Zhu et al., 2011). Greater efforts are needed to raise awareness of the benefits of physical activity to parents in order to gain support for its inclusion and continued participation in schools (Zhu et al., 2011). Recommendations The benefits of physical activity for children are clear, and there are obvious societal advantages to promoting regular exercise from an early age (Standage et al., 2012). As the academic environment represents the most optimal setting in which to promote health and physical activity, a National Curriculum that includes physical education is crucial to a healthy and productive society (Kirk, 2014). However, improvements must be made in the individualisation of curricula based on need, as well as efforts to monitor the efficacy of existing policy (Bohn-Gettler Pellegrini, 2014). Finally, greater efforts to improve awareness of policy and the benefits of physical activity, particularly amongst parents, are needed in order to ensure national physical activity guidelines are met (Geyer, 2012). De-centralising the National Curriculum design and providing more flexibility for individual schools to target specific needs is recommended to promote the most effective physical educationprogramme for UK students (Geyer, 2012). Individual schools differ in their physical education needs, and their curriculum designs should reflect this need. Additionally, engaging parents in the design process as well as seeking their support at the school level may be beneficial in ensuring physical activity behaviours are encouraged in the home environment (Kirk, 2014). Finally, more research is needed that tracks key metrics related to the efficacy of new National Curriculum policy (Bohn-Gettler Pellegrini, 2014). For example, the relationship between physical education implementation and academic outcomes, obesity and QoL would all be beneficial in evaluating the efficacy of physical education policy (Hills et al., 2011). Such efforts may also help reduce the auditory approach taken in previous policy and encourage a more proactive physical education curriculum. Conclusion The purpose of this paper was to discuss contemporary issues regarding physical education policy within the National Curriculum. The benefits of physical activity for children were first explored, including psychological, social and physical outcomes. A review of the National Curriculum policy on physical education was then presented, including former policy and new changes within the 2014 revisions. The efficacy of this policy was then considered, as well as the limitations. Finally, recommendations for improving existing policy and increasing physical activity rates were discussed. Based on the evidence presented within this paper, physical activity appears to offer substantial benefits to students and the inclusion of physical education in the National Curriculum has the potential to offer long-term benefits to society. However, some issues regarding assessment, monitoring, decentralisation of design, incorporating parent involvement, and taking a more proactive approach toward improvements will all contribute to improved policy in the future. Implementing more rigorous research and intervention designs will ideally alleviate existing limitations in research surrounding this topic. References Association for Physical Education (2014). National curriculum 2014. [online] Available at: http://www.afpe.org.uk/advice-on-new-national-curriculum. Accessed 14 Oct. 2014. Best, J. R. (2010). Effects of physical activity on children’s executive function: contributions of experimental research on aerobic exercise. Developmental Review, 30(4), pp. 331-351. Biddle, S. J. and Asare, M. (2011). Physical activity and mental health in children and adolescents: a review of reviews. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 45. Abstract only. Available at: http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/45/11/886.abstract. Accessed 14 Oct. 2014. Bohn-Gettler, C. M. and Pellegrini, A. D. (2014). Justice, conflict and wellbeing. New York: Springer. Bouchard, C., Blair, S. N. and Haskell, W. (2012). Physical activity and health 2nd edition. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Brockman, R., Fox, K. R. and Jago, R. (2011). What is the meaning and nature of active play for today’s children in the UK. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act, 8, p. 15. Craggs, C., Corder, K., van Sluijs, E. M. and Griffin, S. J. (2011). Determinants of change in physical activity in children and adolescents: a systematic review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 40(6), pp. 645-658 Evans, J. (2004). Making a difference? Education and ability in physical education. European Physical Education Review, 10(1), pp. 95-108. Fairclough, S. and Stratton, G. (2005). ‘Physical education makes you fit and healthy’. Physical educations contribution to young peoples physical activity levels. Health Education Research, 20(1), pp. 14-23. Geyer, R. (2012). Can complexity move UK policy beyond ‘Evidence†Based Policy Making’ and the ‘Audit Culture’? Applying a ‘Complexity Cascade’ to education and health policy. Political Studies, 60(1), pp. 20-43. Gov.UK (2013). National curriculum in England: physical education programmes of study. [online] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-physical-education-programmes-of-study/national-curriculum-in-england-physical-education-programmes-of-study. Accessed 14 Oct. 2014. Haerens, L., Kirk, D., Cardon, G. and De Bourdeaudhuij, I. (2011). Toward the development of a pedagogical model for health-based physical education. Quest, 63(3), pp. 321-338. Hills, A. P., Andersen, L. B. and Byrne, N. M. (2011). Physical activity and obesity in children. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 45 (11), pp. 866-870. Janssen, I. and LeBlanc, A. G. (2010). Review Systematic review of the health benefits of physical activity and fitness in school-aged children and youth. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 7(40), pp. 1-16. Kirk, D. (2014). Physical education and curriculum study (Routledge Revivals): a critical introduction. London: Routledge. Marmot, M., Allen, J., Bell, R., Bloomer, E. and Goldblatt, P. (2012). WHO European review of social determinants of health and the health divide. The Lancet, 380(9846), pp. 1011-1029. Metcalf, B., Henley, W. and Wilkin, T. (2012). Effectiveness of intervention on physical activity of children: systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials with objectively measured outcomes (EarlyBird 54). BMJ: British Medical Journal, 345. [online] Available at: http://www.bmj.com/content/345/bmj.e5888. Accessed 14 Oct. 2014. National Health Service (2013). Physical activity guidelines for children and young people. [online] Available at: http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/fitness/Pages/physical-activity-guidelines-for-young-people.aspx#close. Accessed 14 Oct. 2014. Standage, M., Gillison, F. B., Ntoumanis, N. and Treasure, D. C. (2012). Predicting students’ physical activity and health-related well-being: a prospective cross-domain investigation of motivation across school physical education and exercise settings. Journal of Sport Exercise Psychology, 2012(34), pp. 37-60. Thorburn, M., Jess, M. and Atencio, M. (2011). Thinking differently about curriculum: analysing the potential contribution of physical education as part of ‘health and well-being’ during a time of revised curriculum ambitions in Scotland. Physical Education Sport Pedagogy, 16(4), pp. 383-398. Tomporowski, P. D., Lambourne, K. and Okumura, M. S. (2011). Physical activity interventions and childrens mental function: an introduction and overview. Preventive Medicine, 52, pp. S3-S9. Zhu, X., Ennis, C. D. and Chen, A. (2011). Implementation challenges for a constructivist physical education curriculum. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 16(1), pp. 83-99.

The difference of being a social worker

The difference of being a social worker What is the difference between helping service users and being a professional Social Worker? Social work in UK has been a regulated profession since 2005 and the title Social worker is protected by its regulatory body (GSCC) that entitles only those professionally qualified to use this term to describe themselves. Social work professionals are held accountable to the law, their employers, service users and to the GSCC code of ethics. They are guided by principles which make up an ethical framework these can sometimes prevent a social worker to do what service users may see as helping. More than helping, social work is seen as enabling people to resolve their problems. Therefore, working with them to develop skills required to overcome the problem, rather than providing a quick fix. The skills of empowerment, advocacy and user involvement are needed in professional practice so the social worker would be able to exercise their duty in line with the professional code of practice and conduct. This would help to limit bad practices while also promoting moral and job satisfaction. Firstly, this essay will give a brief definition of what is social work; it will then go on to examine the key principles in social work practice. The role of a social worker, their responsibilities and the ethical framework will be described in some detail. It will then conclude with an examination on the significance in working in partnership. Lastly, I will look into the issues of diversity along with AOP and ADP. Finally, this essay will look on the significance of service user and carer experiences and perspectives along with a brief conclusion. Social work is defined by the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) as a profession that promotes social change, problem solving in human relationships and the empowerment and liberation of people to enhance well-being. Utilising theories of human behaviour and social systems, social work intervenes at the points where people interact with their environments. Principles of human rights and social justice are fundamental to social work (IFSW, 2000). This definition of Social work shows that the duties of social work practitioners are linked with principles of empowerment, human right and social justice. Social works main duty is to enable all people to develop their full potential, enrich their lives, and prevent dysfunction (IFSW, 2000). They will act as advocates on behalf of the people they serve and their duty is focused on problem solving also bringing about change. Social work is an interrelated system of values, theory and practice (IFSW, 2000). Social work is also a form of social control, this because it involves promoting and protecting the welfare of not only the individual but also the wider community this dual responsibility often causes conflicts and tensions, (Thompson, 2009, p.3). Social workers come to contact with individuals from many different backgrounds. Their aim is to help people overcome difficulties and live a successful life, while there are times where practitioners are there to support people in accepting a situation that cannot be changed (e.g. terminal illness, etc.). What differs social work from other professionals is the complexity and the variety of the roles in which they are involved. The need to involve service users wherever possible and working closely with other professionals is required by a number of legislations, this makes the practice in a way easier, as it rules out misunderstandings or the possibility of missing out on important information. Individuals and other professionals involved in the process of working in partnership have to be involved during each stage of intervention. Partnership working is seen as a highly skilled activity, it requires the ability to communicate and engage, assess and plan, to be sensitive and observant, and so on, (Thompson, 2009, p.118). Social work practitioners are expected to take regular training in order to expand their knowledge as the result of continuous developments in policies, theories etc. Social work is an evolving profession, constantly responding to new policy aspirations, expanding knowledge and rising public aspirations. (GSCC, 2008, p.10). Trevithick (2009) categirizes knowledge under three headings that overlap and are linked together: Theoretical borrowed theories, analyse theories (purpose of SW), practice theories/approaches Factual law/legislation, social policy, etc. Practice/practical/personal acquisitioned, used, created knowledge. Trevithick (2009, p.25-43). The advantage of this framework would be that it gives directions where there is a need to further expand your knowledge. Social work profession requires a breadth and in depth knowledge base, however, the knowledge base of the caring profession is not appreciated by the general public .. partly due to the assumptions about the caring professionals being common sense and requiring little or no specialist knowledge or skills, (Thompson, 2009, p.11) Social work professionals are guided by a set of values and a Code of Practice. Practice ethics are based on these values which aim to inform social workers intervention with service users. The code of practice set up by the general social care council (GSCC) offers an ethical framework to its practitioners, this aims to maintain a standard of conduct for both employers and employees. The social work code of conduct is designed to serve social workers when practicing their profession, it contains ethical principles which will underpin the approach taken in practice. The professional code of conduct serves many different functions such as; guidance, regulation, discipline, protection, information, proclamation, negotiation, (Values and ethics in practice, p.127). It is very helpful to social workers as it offers guidelines as to what is expected from them as professionals. Social workers have to be familiar with their value base and abide to them in day to day work. They have to put into practice the understanding of the values when practicing their profession. Ethical awareness is an essential part of the social work practices, a social workers ability to act ethically is vital when aiming to provide a high standard of services. The code of conduct, ideally, offers the prospect, tantalizing if theoretical, of resolving value and ethical issues in social work (Adams et al. 2009, p.37). The day to day practice and the uncertainty which social workers can sometimes face would carry ethical dilemmas which will challenge their practice, ethical dilemmas occur when the social worker has a choice between two different courses of action that can be both morally right but only one choice can be made, or when either course of action if chosen, would lead to the compromise of values or principles, (Purtilo, 1993), (Values and ethics in practice, p.117 ). Ethics and values can also intersect when values or moral principles are in conflict, which poses a challenge about what to do, then an ethical problem has occurred, (Purtilo, 1993),'(Values and ethics in practice, p.117 ). The traditional values developed by Biestek (1961), outlined the principles which formed the fundamentals of the social work practice. These principles were made up of seven points and act as an underlying framework to intervention with service users. Individualisation; Non-judgmental attitude; Acceptance; Purposeful expression of feelings; Controlled emotional involvement; User self-determination; Confidentiality. (Crawford and Walke, 2008, p.6) These principles are essential to social work practice as they comply with what social work stands for, human right and social justice. Individuality for example gives the right to the service users to be free from bias and prejudice, therefore the social worker should avoid labels and stereotyping. Non-judgmental attitude would assure the situations are examined without bias, requiring social workers to avoid personal feelings and prejudices. Acceptance implies the expression of genuine concern, acknowledging the service users point of view, mutual respect, etc. Social workers have to give the opportunity to service users to purposefully express their feelings. In this way they will feel empowered and respected. Controlled emotional involvement requires the social worker to express their feelings but however in a controlled way, they should not come across as cold or disinterested this should be guided by knowledge and purpose, at the same time avoiding to over identify with the ser vice user. Self determination is a principle that places importance in recognising the service users rights and needs to autonomy, right of decision making and the right of choice. Confidentiality is a right that service users are entitled to; this implies that consent must be taken from the service users before the information can be disclosed, unless there is a situation where other people may be at risk. In social work there is a wide variety of theories and methods that help social workers intervene, the theory or method chosen will influence the language used and will shape the relationship between the social worker and service user. Language is the wealth of communication, it can open or close doors but also it can influence actions. Language plays a big part of power relations that have to be unpacked and understood for empowerment to occur, (Dominelli, 2002) (Adams et al. 2009, p.175). Being a good communicator is essential to social work practice as communications skills are essential to building a relationship and also interviewing. Lishman (1994) identifies four types of communicating: symbolic, verbal, nonverbal and written, any type of communication is essential to all professional practices therefore social workers have to simultaneously ask good questions, listen actively, convey information, exercise scepticism and reflect on interaction, Adams et al (2009, p.176-178). Social work professionals are expected to work in partnership with people to find the solutions and achieve the outcomes they want, and to collaborate with other agencies and disciplines to ensure support is delivered in a coordinated way. (GSCC, 2008, p.6) One of the principles in building an effective relationship will be honesty (e.g. explaining the reason for intervention). Exercising mutual respect should be another fundamental principle in relationship building, keeping appointments or being on time is a very simple example but however very important. Respect should be exercised even in a case of different personal values as social workers are not there to judge but to help. Consistency is another principle that the service users appreciate, as it shows concern about their situation and understanding. Ethical behavior is essential, because as a social worker there is the duty to respect the code of conduct that social work abides to. Explaining issues that might arise during the intervention and making things clear before work is commenced can rule out later misunderstandings. All these principles will contribute to underpin the trust aspect of the relationship and make the intervention more effective. Social workers always try to involve service users as much as possible in every aspect of their intervention, however, this is not always possible. There are times where social workers are requested to reach decisions and make judgments so that they can protect vulnerable people or in order to implement control. Social workers have legal powers which they would exercise to protect vulnerable people who may be at risk, this however may sometimes conflict with what other people involved wish for. Anti-oppressive practice is a frame work that aims to incorporate the social work value base, it is a response to the continual lobbying by the oppressed individuals. Professionals providing anti-oppressive services redefine professionalism within an open power sharing framework and precise human rights-based value systems. Practicing equality involves practitioners in valuing difference in life-styles and identity instead of demanding uniformity (Adams et al. 2009, p.55). Power imbalance is an important issue that should be addressed when working in an anti-oppressive way. The power that the social worker holds can be used both ways, constructively aiming to empower the service user, but also social workers can abuse this power therefore reinforcing the power imbalance and oppression. However there is always the risk of being oppressive even though not intentionally, e.g. Through naivety or ignorance, reinforcing stereotypes, inappropriate language, using power inappropriately and by acting as an expert, Thompson (2009, p.158-159). Social workers are involved in many complex interactions, we have to recognize the potential for social work to do harm as well as good (Thompson, 2009, p.80). When looking at how inequalities and oppression manifest themselves, the PCS (Thompson, 1996) would be helpful. Service user and carer involvement and participation can be challenging and also rewarding. However it is very valuable to social work practice, service users and carers can get involved in their own package of services or in a strategic planning and service development. Users views of the quality of services and their participation in providing regular feedback on all aspects of social work are therefore an essential part of good practice,(Warren, 2009, p.15). Service users and carers perspectives on services provided, have been sought by many researches for and also evaluators. However, in the recent years there has been a distribution of power which has resulted in the participation of the service users but also giving them the power to drive the research project. In conclusion, social work is a challenging profession which continually challenges the boundaries of its practitioners, whether on a personal, cultural or professional level. Ethics, morals and values are all essential parts of the profession practice. Social workers have to practice in e reflective way, while recognizing diversities which they come across in a daily basis. A social work practice that takes no account of existing inequalities runs the risk of: failing to recognize important factors in someones live, causing tension, reinforcing the negative effects of discrimination (Thompson, 2009, p.26). Word Count: 2 217 Bibliography References Adams, R., Domilelli, L., Payne, M., (2009), Critical Practice In Social Work, 2rd edition, Palgrave Macmillan. Adams, R., Domilelli, L., Payne, M., (2009), Social Work: Themes, Issues and Critical Debates, 3rd edition, Palgrave Macmillan. BASW (1996) The Code of Ethics for Social Work, (www.basw.co.uk accessed: 09/04/2010) Crawford, K., Walke, J., (2008), Social Work with Older People, 2nd Edition, Learning Matters. Eby, M., Gallagher, A., Values and Ethics in Practice, Chapter 7, (Course material). http://www.ifsw.org/f38000138.html (accessed: 12/04/2010) Thompson, N., (2009), Understanding Social Work, 3rd Edition, Palgrave Macmillan. Trevithick, P., (2009), Social Work Skills a practice handbook, 2nd Edition, Open University Press. Warren, J., (2009), Service User and Carer Participation in Social Work, Learning Matters.

Tourist Motivations to Visit Bali

Tourist Motivations to Visit Bali 2.2 Results and Discussions This section presents the results and discussions of the study, which consists of the results of descriptive data from qualitative approach. It also presents the discussions based on the research findings and relates them with possible reasons based on the secondary data or literature review. The findings are based on data sources from qualitative data conducted by the researcher. The purpose of this section is to answer the objectives of the study, which is to determine the tourist perception towards cultural events in Bali and to explore the motivation of people visiting Bali, especially for its culture. 2.2.1 Level of Interest Level of interest of tourist can be determined as one of the factor that influencing people to choose the particular destination. According to the Rapaports (1975) theory about factor that influencing the customer behaviors which can motivate them to go to the destination. It elaborated through this following topic. 2.2.1.1 Sources about Bali From the in-depth interviews informants conducted, all the informants have ever heard about Bali before. Based on how informants get to know Bali, there are several sources. Most of the informants know Bali from word of mouth from informant’s family and friends. On the other hand, for Indonesian respondent, they know Bali since they were attend school. Beside that, the remaining publicity is from media, like television, books, magazines, brochures; as well as through internet, include travel website. For example informants mentioned that their relatives’ experiences and stories about Bali is one of the reasons that make the respondents go to Bali, below are the statements of informants: â€Å"†¦I will go there. Because my friend told me that the place is nice and the culture is very unique† (French informant/A.4) â€Å"†¦I heard it from my parents, because my parents had their honeymoon there, and they said it was really beautiful island† (Singaporean informant/A.10) 2.2.1.2 Attending Balinese Cultural Event Tourists; who never been and have been to Bali before; indicated that five informants have high interest in attending cultural events in Bali, otherwise there is three informants said that they might be interested in attending cultural events. And the remaining two informants do not have interest in attending cultural events. According to Morgan (1996), the respondent answers of ‘maybe’ could be a huge potential if these respondents can be converted to ‘interested’ respondents. In Morgan’s model for decision making, it categorized into 5 main steps, such as: Problem recognition (don’t know market) Information search (maybe market) Evaluation of alternatives Choice of purchase Evaluation of post-purchase experience As for the maybe market, marketers can use advertisements to create the need for attending the cultural events by sending mails or using media like distributing materials that have information on the cultural events to create their awareness. Findings from interviews by looking at their age group of traveler indicated that most of the traveler that interested in Balinese cultural events is older traveler, whereas four informants said that attending cultural events is one of their purposes of traveling to Bali and the remaining informantsaid not really interest to attend cultural events. One of the informants thought that people who attended the cultural events will have a better understanding about the Balinese tradition, which can see his/her statements below: â€Å"†¦as I told you before I want to learn more about their Balinese tradition through their cultural events† (Indonesian informant/B.6) Other respondents thought that differences of cultural events between their country of origin and Bali makes them interested to attend the cultural event in Bali. â€Å"†¦I’m quite interested with Balinese culture event, because their event is very different with our Japanese cultural events†. (Japanese informant/B.7) Meanwhile for younger traveler; only one respondent interested in Balinese cultural events. Another one informant said that he/she will not attend the cultural events in Bali because he/she does not have any interest in culture. The remaining three informants stated that attending cultural events in Bali is not a main purpose but they might decide to attend when they are in Bali. One of respondent of young traveler stated that she might attend the cultural event because she curious about it. â€Å"†¦but I’m just a bit curious for their cultural dances. So maybe I’ll attend there. (Singaporean informant/A.10) Based on the type of cultural events which respondents have the intention to attend, it indicated that six informants show high interest in their intention to attend a cultural festival rather than cultural dances. They mentioned their interest in cultural festival, such as Nyepi, Ngaben, Temple Festival, and Tooth Filling. Most of them interested to attend the Nyepi festival. For example, some informants describe Nyepi festival as seen below: â€Å"†¦ I heard that during Nyepi, everyone have to stay in their house and doing nothing, only pray to their god. My friend said that Bali is like a death island while Nyepi†. (Malaysian informant/B.3) â€Å"†¦ I heard that it only happens once a year. It is a day that whole of Bali Island remains silent.† (Malaysian informant/A.5) â€Å"†¦As a visitor in Bali, we have to stay at their hotel, because the community asked the visitor who stays in Bali should be obey with the rule of their tradition. No one will be hanging around and there is no activity during Nyepi.† (Indonesian informant/B.6) The other four informants refer to attend cultural dances rather than cultural festival. All of them interested to attend the famous â€Å"Kecak† dance. One of them describe Kecak dance as seen below: â€Å"†¦ the famous Monkey dance which as I know also known as Kecak dance.† (French informant/A.4) 2.2.1.3 Sources about Balinese Cultural Event In terms of the sources on how the informants know about cultural event in Bali, it indicated that most of the informants said that they ever heard about Balinese cultural event from school or college. They said that they have been learned it before. The statements regarding with sources as seen below: â€Å"†¦From school, I knew it from my geography teacher.† (Indonesian informant/A.8) â€Å"†¦I heard from my lecture.† (Malaysian informant/A.5) Beside that, the others also mentioned on how they know about cultural event in Bali such as the recommendations from friends, as well as a print publications like magazines, brochure, and travel books. As for the international tourists, internet and travel agents are the common sources on how they discover about the Balinese cultural events. Discussion: According to Picard (1996), Bali is one of the primary destinations in Indonesia, and well-known as an international destination, whereby most of the respondents said that they ever heard about Bali before. Even some of them do not really know about Balinese culture, but they still recognize Bali as one of the famous tourist attraction in the world. Regarding on how the informants know about Bali, it indicated that word of mouth from friends and family’s references is one of the source as well as influence them to travel to Bali. Based on the Rapaports (1975) and Morgan (1996) theory of social influences on customer behavior, reference group is the most influencing way on how they discover about the destination. Family and friends are called ‘primary reference group’ which is a group who influence the behavior to whom they come into close contact; by sharing their experiences about the destination. Most of them reveal that they want to go Bali because of good experiences from their relatives. Tourism is become the largest economy’s industry in Bali, especially its cultural tourism. A Balinese cultural event is one of major tourist activities as well as a tourist attraction. Therefore most of the informants; both tourists who never been and have been to Bali before; have a high interest in attending the cultural events in Bali. By looking at their age group categories, research findings indicated that older traveler is more interested to attend the cultural events rather than the younger traveler. Younger travelers might decide to attend, but attending the cultural event is not their purpose to go to Bali. On the other hand, older travelers reveal that attending cultural event is one of their main purposes to visit Bali. Firstly, there is a cultural arts-core for a tourist who has interest in culture and seen cultural event as primary element and attends the cultural event is a main purpose. Some of the older traveler categories into this level of interest in attend the cultural event. Secondly, cultural arts-incidental is for a tourist who seen a cultural event less important than other attraction but could be either attraction or an amenity, and attend the cultural event is their secondary purpose. Most of the older traveler is under this category, where they points out that attending cultural events is one of their purpose but not their main purpose. Cultural arts-accidental is for a tourist who view cultural events may not be an attraction but an amenity, but they might be interest in attending a cultural event. Most of the younger traveler is under this category. They might be interested in cultural event, but attending the cultural events is not their purpose. Lastly, Non-cultural art is for a tourist who not interested in culture, they also do not seen cultural events as an attraction or amenity, attending cultural events is not their purpose and they will not attend it. One respondent of younger traveler is under this category, where he/she revealed that he/she does not have interested in any cultural event. Based on the type of cultural events that the respondents have intention to attend, most of them intend in attending cultural festival rather than cultural dances, with Nyepi festival as their preferable festival that they want to attend. According to Ida Bagus Rata (2004), Nyepi festival has made Bali a unique island as well as a day to make and keep the balance of nature. He points out that Nyepi represents the suspension of all activity in the island preliminary to chasing out the evil vibration that has accumulated during the year. This is followed by a day of absolute silence, the suspension of all activity, from which the ceremony takes its name. Nyepi marks the New Year. On Nyepi, the tourists are not allowed to step aside of their hotel. All activity should remain inside the hotel. Even though most of the respondents have not attend this festivals before, but their knowledge about the description on how the Nyepi festival held is relatively in a correct way. Kecak dance is the most well-known dances in Bali (Seminar on Tourism,1977). Therefore most of the respondent who interested in cultural dance mentioned that Kecak dance is the cultural dance that they want to attend. But they can not describe on what the dance about. One of the respondent only can mentioned about Monkey dance which Kecak is also known as. The source of how the respondent knows about Balinese cultural dance mostly is from school and college. The others also mentioned about word of mouth from friends and family; mass media like newspaper, magazines, brochures; internet and also information from the travel agents. Therefore marketers need to take notes of the implication here. If the local or domestic market is targeted, they should create more awareness by using an attractive advertisement materials as well as articles. As for the international market, they should update and maintained the tourism board as well as travel website by spreading the information on cultural events which had happened as well as the future events. Distribution channels and networking are essential for international tourists due to their high dependence on tour operator and travel agents. It is important to create awareness for international tourist, so they can discover the unique points of the unusual cultural events in Bali. 2.2.2 Motivational Factor Beside the level of interest, those theories on tourists’ travel motivation that have been discussed in literature review part is can be helpful in this study to identify the Balinese cultural events as one of the motivational factor for tourist to travel to Bali. Therefore, these following topics have been elaborate to explore the tourist motivations travel to Bali. 2.2.2.1 Reason Tourist Traveling to Bali Based on the reason on why people want travel to Bali, most of the informants revealed that they prefer go to Bali because of the famous beaches there. For example, some of the informants thought that the beautiful beaches in Bali is one of the reasons why they want to travel there, below are the statements of respondents: â€Å"†¦and I also want to see their beach, because many people says that Bali have a beautiful beaches† (Indonesian informant/B.1) â€Å"†¦because Bali have beautiful beaches† (Korean informant/A.2) Beside the famous Bali beaches, the other informants also mentioned that the unique Balinese culture and attractive tourist attraction; friendliness of local people; and their interest in shopping, especially local art market, is also the reasons that affect them to go traveling to Bali. One of the respondents thought that shopping in Balinese local art market is cheap, which can see their statement below: â€Å"†¦because I want to see their famous cheap art market.† (Indonesian informant/B.1) 2.2.2.2 Purpose of Trip As for the tourist that been to Bali, most of the informants reveal that the purpose of their trip to Bali mostly is for holiday with family or friends. One of the informants stated that his/her purpose is for business trips like seminar, training and also research purposes. â€Å"I have a lot of purposes, because there are different purposes each of my trip, such as vacation, training, seminar, and business trip or doing some research there.† (Indonesian informant/B.6) 2.2.2.3 Other Factors that Motivate Tourist to Bali Besides culture, the factors those motivate informants to go to Bali is to experience their natural attraction like beaches or mountains. Most of them revealed that they want to experience the beach activities; like surfing; below are the statements of respondents: â€Å"Their beaches for surfing! I like surfing.† (French informant/A.4) â€Å"The beach, surfing and the people. I heard that is what Bali’s famous for.† (Malaysian informant/A.5) â€Å"Their natural attraction, especially beaches. I like the wave, it’s good for surfing!† (Singaporean informant/A.10) Findings from interviews by looking at their age group of traveler indicated that most of the younger traveler revealed that the factor that motivated them to go to Bali is to experience the beach activities; like surfing; because as they know Bali is one of the famous destinations for surfing. In terms of the other factors that motivate some of the informants, beside culture, is indicated to enjoy the beautiful scenery of Bali; friendliness of local people; shopping activities; for example one of informants thought his/her motivate factors is for relaxation to escape for the daily life routine activities, as seen below: â€Å"I’ll go there for relax and also to release my stress for daily routine, especially from my work.† (Malaysian informant/B.3) Discussion: The push and pull concept provides reasons as to why people travel. According to, Dann (1977), people are pushed into making travel decisions by internal forces. The other is that they are pulled into travel decisions by external forces such as destination attributes. In other words, push motivation is an internal factor from an individual and increases the desire for people to travel, whereas pull motivation is an external factor that influences people travel which cues of a specific destination that pull people to realize the needs of particular travel experiences, such as natural and historic attractions, food, people, recreation facilities, and marketed image of the destination. Therefore by looking at the reasons on why people traveling to Bali; it indicated that most of the informants will go to Bali to enjoy the natural attraction in Bali. Whereby according to Dann (1977), natural attraction in Bali; like their beaches; is one of the major pull factors that influence people to go traveling to Bali. The other reasons that some of the informants mentioned that influence them to go to Bali such as the uniqueness of Balinese culture; the friendliness of local people; and shopping activities. Here, all the reasons also can be categories into the pull factors. According to Crompton (1979), he points out that the pull motivations help illustrate the actual destination choice, which related to this findings on the reasons why people choose Bali as destination to travel. Regarding on the purpose of trip that tourists that been to Bali before, most of the informants said that their main purpose is for holiday or leisure time. One of the informants also stated the other purpose is for business purpose. Coltman (1930) explained the factors that create a person’s desire to travel; purpose of people to travel; which have been categories into two; such as motivation that related to the destination and not related (Coltman, 1930). Here, most of the informants though that holiday as their main purpose, which can be fall under motivation related to the destination, into the leisure time escape category; that makes tourist to escape from their daily activities, or merely to have a new experience. In contrary, for business purpose can be categories into the motivation not related to the destination. It means that it can give people no choice about going to that destination instead of some others. Tourists’ purposes can be determined as push factor. Push factor is an internal energy to an individual and increases the desire for people to travel. Crompton (1979) mentioned that the push factor have been useful in explaining the desire for travel. It includes the desire for escape, novelty seeking, adventure seeking, dream fulfillment, rest and relaxation, health and fitness, prestige, and socialization. According to the findings, most of the informants reveal that their push factor is to enjoy the holiday with family and friends, which can be categories into the desire for escape, as well as socialization. By looking at the other factors, beside culture, that motivate the informants to visit Bali, such as to enjoy the beautiful scenery of Bali; to relax with friends and family; the friendliness of local people; and shopping activities. According to Gahan and Martin (1993) and Mohr et al. (1993), the informants’ motivations for people visit Bali mostly for escape; inverse in routine daily life activities by enjoying the scenery. It followed by socialization and family togetherness (enjoying themselves being with family and friends); excitement (surfing) and event novelty (shopping). Attending cultural events is under the event novelty, where tourist is experiencing something new and different things because of the uniqueness. 2.2.3 Tourists perception Basically, tourist perception is related to motivation tourist, which can influence traveler’s decision making to travel to the particular destination. To prove that there is a connection between tourist perception and motivation factors, this study explored the various tourist perceptions towards Bali as a tourist destination, as well as their perceptions about Balinese cultural events. 2.2.3.1 Perception about Bali In terms of tourist’s perception about Bali, most of the informants frequently called Bali as a beautiful island, which famous and well-known as international destination. They also stated that Bali is a nice place for relaxation. Some of the informants also thought about Bali with their friendly local people and the wide variety of tourist activities; such as surfing; where some informants mentioned that Bali is famous as surfing destination in the world. Below are the informants’ statements: â€Å"In my opinion, Bali is the island that has been notified by international tourist as one of the beautiful Islands in the world. It is famous as one of the best surfing destination in the world.† (French informant/A.4) â€Å"To me, Bali is a surfing paradise,†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Malaysian informant/A.5) Beside that, some of the informants comments about Bali as an island that rich in culture and historical background, as seen below: â€Å"I heard that there’s also a lot of history and tales about the Island, which also famous with their uniqueness of culture.† (Malaysian informant/A.5) â€Å"I think Bali is very unique, especially their culture with a strong tradition; where everybody who stays in Bali should obey to their tradition† (Indonesian informant/ B.6) The uniqueness of Balinese art and handicraft; with cheaper price in the local art market; as some informants thought that Bali as shopping spree paradise. Below are their statements: â€Å"Bali has their own beautiful handicraft with their unique design.† (Indonesian informant/B.1) â€Å"I love it, like for shopping it’s very cheap there, especially their art traditional market.† (Indonesian informant/B.9) By looking at the age of informants, most of the older traveler indicates that their opinion about Bali as a nice place for relaxing from the daily life routine, as they thought Bali is a peaceful place. In contrary, for younger traveler, their perception about Bali is an exciting destination, with a lot of activities that they can experience there; doing something stimulating; especially their beach activities. Some of younger traveler thought that beaches in Bali are fantastic and a one of the famous destination for surfing activities. 2.2.3.2 Perception about Balinese Cultural Event In terms of the perceptions of tourists toward cultural event, most of the informants revealed that Balinese cultural event has a unique attraction which very attractive. Some of the informants stated that the cultural event in Bali is unique because different with any other culture; especially for foreign tourist, whereby they revealed that it different between Balinese culture and the culture in their country of origin; below are the statements of informants: â€Å"It’s very unique, and quite different with Malaysian culture, especially their festival, like Nyepi.† (Malaysian informant/B.3) â€Å"†¦as I know their culture is very interesting and a lot of traditional dance and festival that very different from my country.† (French informant/A.4) Some of the informants also mentioned other perceptions about Balinese cultural event have a strong connection with their belief or religion, as well as their tradition, which make their cultural events’ as a sacral and very spiritual (mystic). â€Å"Their cultural event is very religious and sacral. Whatever it is, dances or festivals, they always connected with their religion and beliefs.† (Indonesian informant/B.1) â€Å"I think it also a bit mystic.† (Indonesian informant/B.9) â€Å"I felt a bit freaky because it’s very mystic as well as magical.† (Singaporean informant/A.10) Other informants indicated on how the Balinese community performs’ the cultural events in Bali. Some of them thought that the cultural event, especially Balinese cultural dance, is very attractive, energetic and also powerful. â€Å"I think it’s very beautiful, and also the performance was very energetic and powerful!† (Indonesian informant/B.9) â€Å"I think it’s quite interesting and energetic†¦. and they dance with the powerful music.† (Singaporean informant/A.10) For the cultural festival, one informant commented on the way they celebrate it which is family-oriented. â€Å"In my opinion, it’s very family-oriented; it’s good, because even though they don’t have enough money, the Balinese community will be collecting money from their big family to hold their tradition as cultural event.† (Indonesian informant/B.6) Discussion: According to the findings, the tourists’ perceptions towards Bali as one of the most enchanting and well-known travel destination in the world, because of the physical beauty of the island and its natural attraction like their nice beaches. According to Picard (1996), therefore Bali is seen by tourists as the â€Å"Ultimate Island†. Other than the beauty of their natural attraction, some of the informants also revealed that Bali as an island with rich of culture and strong religious tradition. For that reason, Bali is also known as the â€Å"Island of God†, where Hinduism belief influences most of the cultural aspect in Balinese community (Picard, 1996). The tourists’ perception toward Bali is predominantly characterized by the reasons on why people traveling to Bali; and factors that motivates them. Based on Crompton (1979), it shows that there is a connection between the tourist perception about a destination and tourist motivations to travel to the destination. He points out that tourist perception on the particular destination can influence traveler’s decision making in choosing a destination. Therefore tourists’ perception about Bali also can be categorized as the Pull factors based on Dann’s theory (Dann,1977). Regarding the tourists’ perception toward the Balinese cultural events in general, the study indicates that most of informants thought that Balinese cultural event is attractive and very unique, which different with other culture. Other than the uniqueness of cultural event in Bali, some of the informants thought that Balinese cultural events have a strong connection with their religion and spiritual indeed. According to Picard (1996), the cultural and religious are interwoven in Bali. He also stated that tourism in Bali cannot be conceived apart from Balinese culture. In fact, tourism is become the largest economy’s industry in Bali, with cultural tourism is one of the major aspects that contributed to the industry. In terms of the perceptions’ towards characteristics of Balinese cultural events, most of the informants described the cultural dance in Bali is energetic and powerful; and for the cultural festival some of the informants thought that it is family-oriented. By looking at the tourists’ perceptions about cultural events shows the level of understanding and knowledge of the informants toward the Balinese cultural events. Even they do not have a clear perspective in terms of knowledge, but the study shows the good opinion toward Balinese cultural events. Based on the Gahan and Martin (1993), the tourist perceptions’ on a particular event can influence tourist behavior for attending the events. This study shows that good perceptions’ of tourist toward Balinese cultural event will influence them to attend the cultural events; where majority of the informants indicates their interest to attend the cultural event in Bali. 2.2.4 Tourist experience Motivation tourist is related to their intention of visiting the particular destination, which also influence by their perception toward the destination. Tourist experienced the destination to meets their expectation. This can be determined by knowing how their travel behavior during the trip, such as their satisfaction level, destination that they visited, as well as the frequency of visiting Bali. 2.2.4.1 Satisfaction of Trip From the qualitative study conducted to the informants that been to Bali before, all of the informant shows that they have a high satisfaction level while their trip to Bali. Most of the informants reveal that they enjoy the scenery and tourist attractions in Bali, especially the scenery of beaches. â€Å"Yes, because the scenery and the beach is very attractive. I really enjoy it.† (Indonesian informant/A.8) â€Å"I really enjoyed it with my friends and family, especially when I looked at the scenery during sunset! It’s really beautiful.† (Indonesian informant/B.9) Other than that, one of the informants thought that he/she satisfied with the trip because of the price is cheap, like for accommodation, as well as public transportation. â€Å"And my trip is very satisfied! Because it’s very cheap there, the air is fresh and no pollution! The accommodation is also cheap. I stayed near by the Nusa Dua beach. For the transportation, the taxi rate is so cheap.† (Japanese informant/B.7) 2.2.4.2 Destination Visited In terms of the destinations visited, the study indicated that Kuta area is the most popular destination for tourist. Beside that, some of the informants stated that Ubud, Nusa Dua, and Kintamani, as the other destinations that they visited during the trip. Denpasar is the main gateways in Bali; where known as the place of Ngurah Rai International airport of Bali; therefore most of the informants mentioned Denpasar as one of the place that they have been visited. 2.2.4.3 Experience for Attending Cultural Event By looking at the tourists’ experience for attending the cultural events, from five informants, four informants had been attend the cultural event in Bali, and only one informant that did not attend. Most of the informants; that had been attend it before; reveals that they watched the performance in Ubud and Kuta area. â€Å"I watched the dances during night in Ubud.† (Japanese informant/B.7) â€Å"I watched it near by my hotel in Kuta, and it’s very fantastic!† (Indonesian informant/B.9) The most cultural event that had been attended is Kecak dance, and followed by Pendet and Barong dance for the cultural dances. For the cultural festivals and ceremonies, some of the informants mentioned that they have been attending the Ngaben festivals. Whereby, one of the informants reveals that he/she had been attending both of the cultural dances and cultural festivals. â€Å"I have seen Ngaben ceremony and some of their cultural dances, like Kecak and Pendet. Kecak is very attractive dance; there is a meaning behind it. One of the interesting parts is their group cooperation.† (Indonesian informant/B.6) 2.2.4.4 Frequency of Visiting Bali Based on the frequency of visiting Bali, most of the informants stated that it is their first time going to Bali. Whereas one of the informants stated that he/she has gone to Bali for more than twice, at least 4 times a year. â€Å"Not really regularly, but I’ll go there at least 4 times a year.† (Indonesian informant/B.6) By looking at the intention for tourist that never been to Bali before, all the informants reveal that they have an intention for planning to visit Bali someday. Some of them stated that they will visit Bali when they already have enough money to go there. â€Å"I have to see my saving first.† (Korean informant/A.2) â€Å"Yes, when I have enough money, surely I’ll go there. (Indonesian informant/B.1) From the qualitative study, i Tourist Motivations to Visit Bali Tourist Motivations to Visit Bali 2.2 Results and Discussions This section presents the results and discussions of the study, which consists of the results of descriptive data from qualitative approach. It also presents the discussions based on the research findings and relates them with possible reasons based on the secondary data or literature review. The findings are based on data sources from qualitative data conducted by the researcher. The purpose of this section is to answer the objectives of the study, which is to determine the tourist perception towards cultural events in Bali and to explore the motivation of people visiting Bali, especially for its culture. 2.2.1 Level of Interest Level of interest of tourist can be determined as one of the factor that influencing people to choose the particular destination. According to the Rapaports (1975) theory about factor that influencing the customer behaviors which can motivate them to go to the destination. It elaborated through this following topic. 2.2.1.1 Sources about Bali From the in-depth interviews informants conducted, all the informants have ever heard about Bali before. Based on how informants get to know Bali, there are several sources. Most of the informants know Bali from word of mouth from informant’s family and friends. On the other hand, for Indonesian respondent, they know Bali since they were attend school. Beside that, the remaining publicity is from media, like television, books, magazines, brochures; as well as through internet, include travel website. For example informants mentioned that their relatives’ experiences and stories about Bali is one of the reasons that make the respondents go to Bali, below are the statements of informants: â€Å"†¦I will go there. Because my friend told me that the place is nice and the culture is very unique† (French informant/A.4) â€Å"†¦I heard it from my parents, because my parents had their honeymoon there, and they said it was really beautiful island† (Singaporean informant/A.10) 2.2.1.2 Attending Balinese Cultural Event Tourists; who never been and have been to Bali before; indicated that five informants have high interest in attending cultural events in Bali, otherwise there is three informants said that they might be interested in attending cultural events. And the remaining two informants do not have interest in attending cultural events. According to Morgan (1996), the respondent answers of ‘maybe’ could be a huge potential if these respondents can be converted to ‘interested’ respondents. In Morgan’s model for decision making, it categorized into 5 main steps, such as: Problem recognition (don’t know market) Information search (maybe market) Evaluation of alternatives Choice of purchase Evaluation of post-purchase experience As for the maybe market, marketers can use advertisements to create the need for attending the cultural events by sending mails or using media like distributing materials that have information on the cultural events to create their awareness. Findings from interviews by looking at their age group of traveler indicated that most of the traveler that interested in Balinese cultural events is older traveler, whereas four informants said that attending cultural events is one of their purposes of traveling to Bali and the remaining informantsaid not really interest to attend cultural events. One of the informants thought that people who attended the cultural events will have a better understanding about the Balinese tradition, which can see his/her statements below: â€Å"†¦as I told you before I want to learn more about their Balinese tradition through their cultural events† (Indonesian informant/B.6) Other respondents thought that differences of cultural events between their country of origin and Bali makes them interested to attend the cultural event in Bali. â€Å"†¦I’m quite interested with Balinese culture event, because their event is very different with our Japanese cultural events†. (Japanese informant/B.7) Meanwhile for younger traveler; only one respondent interested in Balinese cultural events. Another one informant said that he/she will not attend the cultural events in Bali because he/she does not have any interest in culture. The remaining three informants stated that attending cultural events in Bali is not a main purpose but they might decide to attend when they are in Bali. One of respondent of young traveler stated that she might attend the cultural event because she curious about it. â€Å"†¦but I’m just a bit curious for their cultural dances. So maybe I’ll attend there. (Singaporean informant/A.10) Based on the type of cultural events which respondents have the intention to attend, it indicated that six informants show high interest in their intention to attend a cultural festival rather than cultural dances. They mentioned their interest in cultural festival, such as Nyepi, Ngaben, Temple Festival, and Tooth Filling. Most of them interested to attend the Nyepi festival. For example, some informants describe Nyepi festival as seen below: â€Å"†¦ I heard that during Nyepi, everyone have to stay in their house and doing nothing, only pray to their god. My friend said that Bali is like a death island while Nyepi†. (Malaysian informant/B.3) â€Å"†¦ I heard that it only happens once a year. It is a day that whole of Bali Island remains silent.† (Malaysian informant/A.5) â€Å"†¦As a visitor in Bali, we have to stay at their hotel, because the community asked the visitor who stays in Bali should be obey with the rule of their tradition. No one will be hanging around and there is no activity during Nyepi.† (Indonesian informant/B.6) The other four informants refer to attend cultural dances rather than cultural festival. All of them interested to attend the famous â€Å"Kecak† dance. One of them describe Kecak dance as seen below: â€Å"†¦ the famous Monkey dance which as I know also known as Kecak dance.† (French informant/A.4) 2.2.1.3 Sources about Balinese Cultural Event In terms of the sources on how the informants know about cultural event in Bali, it indicated that most of the informants said that they ever heard about Balinese cultural event from school or college. They said that they have been learned it before. The statements regarding with sources as seen below: â€Å"†¦From school, I knew it from my geography teacher.† (Indonesian informant/A.8) â€Å"†¦I heard from my lecture.† (Malaysian informant/A.5) Beside that, the others also mentioned on how they know about cultural event in Bali such as the recommendations from friends, as well as a print publications like magazines, brochure, and travel books. As for the international tourists, internet and travel agents are the common sources on how they discover about the Balinese cultural events. Discussion: According to Picard (1996), Bali is one of the primary destinations in Indonesia, and well-known as an international destination, whereby most of the respondents said that they ever heard about Bali before. Even some of them do not really know about Balinese culture, but they still recognize Bali as one of the famous tourist attraction in the world. Regarding on how the informants know about Bali, it indicated that word of mouth from friends and family’s references is one of the source as well as influence them to travel to Bali. Based on the Rapaports (1975) and Morgan (1996) theory of social influences on customer behavior, reference group is the most influencing way on how they discover about the destination. Family and friends are called ‘primary reference group’ which is a group who influence the behavior to whom they come into close contact; by sharing their experiences about the destination. Most of them reveal that they want to go Bali because of good experiences from their relatives. Tourism is become the largest economy’s industry in Bali, especially its cultural tourism. A Balinese cultural event is one of major tourist activities as well as a tourist attraction. Therefore most of the informants; both tourists who never been and have been to Bali before; have a high interest in attending the cultural events in Bali. By looking at their age group categories, research findings indicated that older traveler is more interested to attend the cultural events rather than the younger traveler. Younger travelers might decide to attend, but attending the cultural event is not their purpose to go to Bali. On the other hand, older travelers reveal that attending cultural event is one of their main purposes to visit Bali. Firstly, there is a cultural arts-core for a tourist who has interest in culture and seen cultural event as primary element and attends the cultural event is a main purpose. Some of the older traveler categories into this level of interest in attend the cultural event. Secondly, cultural arts-incidental is for a tourist who seen a cultural event less important than other attraction but could be either attraction or an amenity, and attend the cultural event is their secondary purpose. Most of the older traveler is under this category, where they points out that attending cultural events is one of their purpose but not their main purpose. Cultural arts-accidental is for a tourist who view cultural events may not be an attraction but an amenity, but they might be interest in attending a cultural event. Most of the younger traveler is under this category. They might be interested in cultural event, but attending the cultural events is not their purpose. Lastly, Non-cultural art is for a tourist who not interested in culture, they also do not seen cultural events as an attraction or amenity, attending cultural events is not their purpose and they will not attend it. One respondent of younger traveler is under this category, where he/she revealed that he/she does not have interested in any cultural event. Based on the type of cultural events that the respondents have intention to attend, most of them intend in attending cultural festival rather than cultural dances, with Nyepi festival as their preferable festival that they want to attend. According to Ida Bagus Rata (2004), Nyepi festival has made Bali a unique island as well as a day to make and keep the balance of nature. He points out that Nyepi represents the suspension of all activity in the island preliminary to chasing out the evil vibration that has accumulated during the year. This is followed by a day of absolute silence, the suspension of all activity, from which the ceremony takes its name. Nyepi marks the New Year. On Nyepi, the tourists are not allowed to step aside of their hotel. All activity should remain inside the hotel. Even though most of the respondents have not attend this festivals before, but their knowledge about the description on how the Nyepi festival held is relatively in a correct way. Kecak dance is the most well-known dances in Bali (Seminar on Tourism,1977). Therefore most of the respondent who interested in cultural dance mentioned that Kecak dance is the cultural dance that they want to attend. But they can not describe on what the dance about. One of the respondent only can mentioned about Monkey dance which Kecak is also known as. The source of how the respondent knows about Balinese cultural dance mostly is from school and college. The others also mentioned about word of mouth from friends and family; mass media like newspaper, magazines, brochures; internet and also information from the travel agents. Therefore marketers need to take notes of the implication here. If the local or domestic market is targeted, they should create more awareness by using an attractive advertisement materials as well as articles. As for the international market, they should update and maintained the tourism board as well as travel website by spreading the information on cultural events which had happened as well as the future events. Distribution channels and networking are essential for international tourists due to their high dependence on tour operator and travel agents. It is important to create awareness for international tourist, so they can discover the unique points of the unusual cultural events in Bali. 2.2.2 Motivational Factor Beside the level of interest, those theories on tourists’ travel motivation that have been discussed in literature review part is can be helpful in this study to identify the Balinese cultural events as one of the motivational factor for tourist to travel to Bali. Therefore, these following topics have been elaborate to explore the tourist motivations travel to Bali. 2.2.2.1 Reason Tourist Traveling to Bali Based on the reason on why people want travel to Bali, most of the informants revealed that they prefer go to Bali because of the famous beaches there. For example, some of the informants thought that the beautiful beaches in Bali is one of the reasons why they want to travel there, below are the statements of respondents: â€Å"†¦and I also want to see their beach, because many people says that Bali have a beautiful beaches† (Indonesian informant/B.1) â€Å"†¦because Bali have beautiful beaches† (Korean informant/A.2) Beside the famous Bali beaches, the other informants also mentioned that the unique Balinese culture and attractive tourist attraction; friendliness of local people; and their interest in shopping, especially local art market, is also the reasons that affect them to go traveling to Bali. One of the respondents thought that shopping in Balinese local art market is cheap, which can see their statement below: â€Å"†¦because I want to see their famous cheap art market.† (Indonesian informant/B.1) 2.2.2.2 Purpose of Trip As for the tourist that been to Bali, most of the informants reveal that the purpose of their trip to Bali mostly is for holiday with family or friends. One of the informants stated that his/her purpose is for business trips like seminar, training and also research purposes. â€Å"I have a lot of purposes, because there are different purposes each of my trip, such as vacation, training, seminar, and business trip or doing some research there.† (Indonesian informant/B.6) 2.2.2.3 Other Factors that Motivate Tourist to Bali Besides culture, the factors those motivate informants to go to Bali is to experience their natural attraction like beaches or mountains. Most of them revealed that they want to experience the beach activities; like surfing; below are the statements of respondents: â€Å"Their beaches for surfing! I like surfing.† (French informant/A.4) â€Å"The beach, surfing and the people. I heard that is what Bali’s famous for.† (Malaysian informant/A.5) â€Å"Their natural attraction, especially beaches. I like the wave, it’s good for surfing!† (Singaporean informant/A.10) Findings from interviews by looking at their age group of traveler indicated that most of the younger traveler revealed that the factor that motivated them to go to Bali is to experience the beach activities; like surfing; because as they know Bali is one of the famous destinations for surfing. In terms of the other factors that motivate some of the informants, beside culture, is indicated to enjoy the beautiful scenery of Bali; friendliness of local people; shopping activities; for example one of informants thought his/her motivate factors is for relaxation to escape for the daily life routine activities, as seen below: â€Å"I’ll go there for relax and also to release my stress for daily routine, especially from my work.† (Malaysian informant/B.3) Discussion: The push and pull concept provides reasons as to why people travel. According to, Dann (1977), people are pushed into making travel decisions by internal forces. The other is that they are pulled into travel decisions by external forces such as destination attributes. In other words, push motivation is an internal factor from an individual and increases the desire for people to travel, whereas pull motivation is an external factor that influences people travel which cues of a specific destination that pull people to realize the needs of particular travel experiences, such as natural and historic attractions, food, people, recreation facilities, and marketed image of the destination. Therefore by looking at the reasons on why people traveling to Bali; it indicated that most of the informants will go to Bali to enjoy the natural attraction in Bali. Whereby according to Dann (1977), natural attraction in Bali; like their beaches; is one of the major pull factors that influence people to go traveling to Bali. The other reasons that some of the informants mentioned that influence them to go to Bali such as the uniqueness of Balinese culture; the friendliness of local people; and shopping activities. Here, all the reasons also can be categories into the pull factors. According to Crompton (1979), he points out that the pull motivations help illustrate the actual destination choice, which related to this findings on the reasons why people choose Bali as destination to travel. Regarding on the purpose of trip that tourists that been to Bali before, most of the informants said that their main purpose is for holiday or leisure time. One of the informants also stated the other purpose is for business purpose. Coltman (1930) explained the factors that create a person’s desire to travel; purpose of people to travel; which have been categories into two; such as motivation that related to the destination and not related (Coltman, 1930). Here, most of the informants though that holiday as their main purpose, which can be fall under motivation related to the destination, into the leisure time escape category; that makes tourist to escape from their daily activities, or merely to have a new experience. In contrary, for business purpose can be categories into the motivation not related to the destination. It means that it can give people no choice about going to that destination instead of some others. Tourists’ purposes can be determined as push factor. Push factor is an internal energy to an individual and increases the desire for people to travel. Crompton (1979) mentioned that the push factor have been useful in explaining the desire for travel. It includes the desire for escape, novelty seeking, adventure seeking, dream fulfillment, rest and relaxation, health and fitness, prestige, and socialization. According to the findings, most of the informants reveal that their push factor is to enjoy the holiday with family and friends, which can be categories into the desire for escape, as well as socialization. By looking at the other factors, beside culture, that motivate the informants to visit Bali, such as to enjoy the beautiful scenery of Bali; to relax with friends and family; the friendliness of local people; and shopping activities. According to Gahan and Martin (1993) and Mohr et al. (1993), the informants’ motivations for people visit Bali mostly for escape; inverse in routine daily life activities by enjoying the scenery. It followed by socialization and family togetherness (enjoying themselves being with family and friends); excitement (surfing) and event novelty (shopping). Attending cultural events is under the event novelty, where tourist is experiencing something new and different things because of the uniqueness. 2.2.3 Tourists perception Basically, tourist perception is related to motivation tourist, which can influence traveler’s decision making to travel to the particular destination. To prove that there is a connection between tourist perception and motivation factors, this study explored the various tourist perceptions towards Bali as a tourist destination, as well as their perceptions about Balinese cultural events. 2.2.3.1 Perception about Bali In terms of tourist’s perception about Bali, most of the informants frequently called Bali as a beautiful island, which famous and well-known as international destination. They also stated that Bali is a nice place for relaxation. Some of the informants also thought about Bali with their friendly local people and the wide variety of tourist activities; such as surfing; where some informants mentioned that Bali is famous as surfing destination in the world. Below are the informants’ statements: â€Å"In my opinion, Bali is the island that has been notified by international tourist as one of the beautiful Islands in the world. It is famous as one of the best surfing destination in the world.† (French informant/A.4) â€Å"To me, Bali is a surfing paradise,†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Malaysian informant/A.5) Beside that, some of the informants comments about Bali as an island that rich in culture and historical background, as seen below: â€Å"I heard that there’s also a lot of history and tales about the Island, which also famous with their uniqueness of culture.† (Malaysian informant/A.5) â€Å"I think Bali is very unique, especially their culture with a strong tradition; where everybody who stays in Bali should obey to their tradition† (Indonesian informant/ B.6) The uniqueness of Balinese art and handicraft; with cheaper price in the local art market; as some informants thought that Bali as shopping spree paradise. Below are their statements: â€Å"Bali has their own beautiful handicraft with their unique design.† (Indonesian informant/B.1) â€Å"I love it, like for shopping it’s very cheap there, especially their art traditional market.† (Indonesian informant/B.9) By looking at the age of informants, most of the older traveler indicates that their opinion about Bali as a nice place for relaxing from the daily life routine, as they thought Bali is a peaceful place. In contrary, for younger traveler, their perception about Bali is an exciting destination, with a lot of activities that they can experience there; doing something stimulating; especially their beach activities. Some of younger traveler thought that beaches in Bali are fantastic and a one of the famous destination for surfing activities. 2.2.3.2 Perception about Balinese Cultural Event In terms of the perceptions of tourists toward cultural event, most of the informants revealed that Balinese cultural event has a unique attraction which very attractive. Some of the informants stated that the cultural event in Bali is unique because different with any other culture; especially for foreign tourist, whereby they revealed that it different between Balinese culture and the culture in their country of origin; below are the statements of informants: â€Å"It’s very unique, and quite different with Malaysian culture, especially their festival, like Nyepi.† (Malaysian informant/B.3) â€Å"†¦as I know their culture is very interesting and a lot of traditional dance and festival that very different from my country.† (French informant/A.4) Some of the informants also mentioned other perceptions about Balinese cultural event have a strong connection with their belief or religion, as well as their tradition, which make their cultural events’ as a sacral and very spiritual (mystic). â€Å"Their cultural event is very religious and sacral. Whatever it is, dances or festivals, they always connected with their religion and beliefs.† (Indonesian informant/B.1) â€Å"I think it also a bit mystic.† (Indonesian informant/B.9) â€Å"I felt a bit freaky because it’s very mystic as well as magical.† (Singaporean informant/A.10) Other informants indicated on how the Balinese community performs’ the cultural events in Bali. Some of them thought that the cultural event, especially Balinese cultural dance, is very attractive, energetic and also powerful. â€Å"I think it’s very beautiful, and also the performance was very energetic and powerful!† (Indonesian informant/B.9) â€Å"I think it’s quite interesting and energetic†¦. and they dance with the powerful music.† (Singaporean informant/A.10) For the cultural festival, one informant commented on the way they celebrate it which is family-oriented. â€Å"In my opinion, it’s very family-oriented; it’s good, because even though they don’t have enough money, the Balinese community will be collecting money from their big family to hold their tradition as cultural event.† (Indonesian informant/B.6) Discussion: According to the findings, the tourists’ perceptions towards Bali as one of the most enchanting and well-known travel destination in the world, because of the physical beauty of the island and its natural attraction like their nice beaches. According to Picard (1996), therefore Bali is seen by tourists as the â€Å"Ultimate Island†. Other than the beauty of their natural attraction, some of the informants also revealed that Bali as an island with rich of culture and strong religious tradition. For that reason, Bali is also known as the â€Å"Island of God†, where Hinduism belief influences most of the cultural aspect in Balinese community (Picard, 1996). The tourists’ perception toward Bali is predominantly characterized by the reasons on why people traveling to Bali; and factors that motivates them. Based on Crompton (1979), it shows that there is a connection between the tourist perception about a destination and tourist motivations to travel to the destination. He points out that tourist perception on the particular destination can influence traveler’s decision making in choosing a destination. Therefore tourists’ perception about Bali also can be categorized as the Pull factors based on Dann’s theory (Dann,1977). Regarding the tourists’ perception toward the Balinese cultural events in general, the study indicates that most of informants thought that Balinese cultural event is attractive and very unique, which different with other culture. Other than the uniqueness of cultural event in Bali, some of the informants thought that Balinese cultural events have a strong connection with their religion and spiritual indeed. According to Picard (1996), the cultural and religious are interwoven in Bali. He also stated that tourism in Bali cannot be conceived apart from Balinese culture. In fact, tourism is become the largest economy’s industry in Bali, with cultural tourism is one of the major aspects that contributed to the industry. In terms of the perceptions’ towards characteristics of Balinese cultural events, most of the informants described the cultural dance in Bali is energetic and powerful; and for the cultural festival some of the informants thought that it is family-oriented. By looking at the tourists’ perceptions about cultural events shows the level of understanding and knowledge of the informants toward the Balinese cultural events. Even they do not have a clear perspective in terms of knowledge, but the study shows the good opinion toward Balinese cultural events. Based on the Gahan and Martin (1993), the tourist perceptions’ on a particular event can influence tourist behavior for attending the events. This study shows that good perceptions’ of tourist toward Balinese cultural event will influence them to attend the cultural events; where majority of the informants indicates their interest to attend the cultural event in Bali. 2.2.4 Tourist experience Motivation tourist is related to their intention of visiting the particular destination, which also influence by their perception toward the destination. Tourist experienced the destination to meets their expectation. This can be determined by knowing how their travel behavior during the trip, such as their satisfaction level, destination that they visited, as well as the frequency of visiting Bali. 2.2.4.1 Satisfaction of Trip From the qualitative study conducted to the informants that been to Bali before, all of the informant shows that they have a high satisfaction level while their trip to Bali. Most of the informants reveal that they enjoy the scenery and tourist attractions in Bali, especially the scenery of beaches. â€Å"Yes, because the scenery and the beach is very attractive. I really enjoy it.† (Indonesian informant/A.8) â€Å"I really enjoyed it with my friends and family, especially when I looked at the scenery during sunset! It’s really beautiful.† (Indonesian informant/B.9) Other than that, one of the informants thought that he/she satisfied with the trip because of the price is cheap, like for accommodation, as well as public transportation. â€Å"And my trip is very satisfied! Because it’s very cheap there, the air is fresh and no pollution! The accommodation is also cheap. I stayed near by the Nusa Dua beach. For the transportation, the taxi rate is so cheap.† (Japanese informant/B.7) 2.2.4.2 Destination Visited In terms of the destinations visited, the study indicated that Kuta area is the most popular destination for tourist. Beside that, some of the informants stated that Ubud, Nusa Dua, and Kintamani, as the other destinations that they visited during the trip. Denpasar is the main gateways in Bali; where known as the place of Ngurah Rai International airport of Bali; therefore most of the informants mentioned Denpasar as one of the place that they have been visited. 2.2.4.3 Experience for Attending Cultural Event By looking at the tourists’ experience for attending the cultural events, from five informants, four informants had been attend the cultural event in Bali, and only one informant that did not attend. Most of the informants; that had been attend it before; reveals that they watched the performance in Ubud and Kuta area. â€Å"I watched the dances during night in Ubud.† (Japanese informant/B.7) â€Å"I watched it near by my hotel in Kuta, and it’s very fantastic!† (Indonesian informant/B.9) The most cultural event that had been attended is Kecak dance, and followed by Pendet and Barong dance for the cultural dances. For the cultural festivals and ceremonies, some of the informants mentioned that they have been attending the Ngaben festivals. Whereby, one of the informants reveals that he/she had been attending both of the cultural dances and cultural festivals. â€Å"I have seen Ngaben ceremony and some of their cultural dances, like Kecak and Pendet. Kecak is very attractive dance; there is a meaning behind it. One of the interesting parts is their group cooperation.† (Indonesian informant/B.6) 2.2.4.4 Frequency of Visiting Bali Based on the frequency of visiting Bali, most of the informants stated that it is their first time going to Bali. Whereas one of the informants stated that he/she has gone to Bali for more than twice, at least 4 times a year. â€Å"Not really regularly, but I’ll go there at least 4 times a year.† (Indonesian informant/B.6) By looking at the intention for tourist that never been to Bali before, all the informants reveal that they have an intention for planning to visit Bali someday. Some of them stated that they will visit Bali when they already have enough money to go there. â€Å"I have to see my saving first.† (Korean informant/A.2) â€Å"Yes, when I have enough money, surely I’ll go there. (Indonesian informant/B.1) From the qualitative study, i