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The term of globalization is so common that it gives impression of cliche. However, globalization is obviously dominant trend in our lives now. The phenomenon of globalization is too broad to define its characteristic, but at the base level it is possible to characterize globalization as the increasing economic, social and cultural interconnections that now exist across national boundaries, and which are also impinging more and more upon the daily lives of people around the world. Even though it seems that globalization expands its enormous influence based on Western-centered ideology, capital and value etc., it is not unilateral process but parallel process with localization. Therefore, one of the current intriguing debates is two particular representations of globalization co-exist. On the one hand, some assert that globalization leads to increasing homogenization and Westernization of culture, on the other hand, the others insist that globalization leads to increasing differentiation of culture and reinforcing cultural identity at localized level. Considering characteristic of globalization that is free global flows of people, capital, information, and culture, tourism is the apparent global system which shows bilateral interconnection between globalization and localization. In other words, tourism is a system which is an undoubted and active agency for globalization, yet which is simultaneously a very dynamic agency for localization. Bali provides a good case of the complexities involved in the give and take of globalization and the commodification of culture based on localization. Since the Dutch colonial era when the colonial government tried to promote Bali as tourist destination and to preserve Balinese tradition as commodity, Balinese culture focused on tradition has adopted changes and new circumstance actively. The traditional culture of Bali has survived by flexible adaptation or even by invention, recreation, and manipulation in response to stimuli from the outside world. In dilemma between maintaining tradition and modernization, Balinese choose the tradition. Because they recognize the importance of the tradition and religion significantly. The tradition and the Balinese religion have more meaning to Bali than any other regions. The tourism based on the Balinese tradition and religion has provided Bali most important economic resource as well as negotiating power with national government. If the Balinese tradition is weaken, it will lead to not only weakening of tourism in Bali but also losing political power. Therefore, enforcement of tradition is inevitable choice to Balinese. After independence of Indonesia, Indonesian government started to structure political institution and control diverse ethnics. The various ethnic groups, including Balinese, had to negotiate with government to adjust their cultural identity to national ideology. However, Bali-Hinduism didn't meet the criteria of national ideology: the existence of a holy book, belief in one God and a prophet, and international recognition. The fact that Bali-Hinduism might not gain official recognition from the central state as a religion became serious threat to Balinese in terms of devastating their core identity. Facing with crisis of losing identity and being target of Muslim and Christian, Balinese rapidly had an effort to equip Bali-Hinduism to official religious status. In the process for Bali-Hinduism to be admitted as official religion, Balinese realized their status of minority as ethnic group, crisis of identity, necessity for strengthen orthodox Hinduism and distinction between religion and custom. Thus, somewhat paradoxically, Hinduism became the prime marker of Balinese ethnicity precisely when religion was being severed from its ethnic origin to become means of national integration. Although the Balinese suffered from the crisis of losing official status of Hinduism during this period, Hinduism rooted in Balinese identity more deeply, recognizing their condition as minority and importance of preserving traditional culture and religion as identity to survive among Muslim majority nation. Tourism has played a major role in the 'imaging' and ‘recreation’ of national culture and ethnicity in Indonesia. Tradition centering on religion is key resource to commercialize Bali for international market and adequate control of religious attitude in local levels is also main governmental purpose to achieve ‘unity in diversity’. In other words, parallel to economic policy, regional culture were consolidated, and policies in relation to national culture were promoted. According to this governmental policy, Balinese foster, develop and create their traditional culture into new form by adoption to national aim and contest. In the national contest for selecting peak culture, religious ritual performance and customary organization are core resources. Therefore, Balinese continuously recognize cultural importance and strengthen their identity based on Hinduism and traditional customs through interaction among international market, national aim and local dynamics. As the example of 'staged authenticity', Bali recreate traditional performance which might disappear into new form for tourist gaze. However, performing arts created for tourists are by no means for their benefit alone: the Balinese are also adopting these for themselves. Bali, touristic contact-zone where global, national and local levels interconnect for its own interests, dynamically adopt to new global changes and reinforce their cultural identity and tradition through tourism without losing identity and acculturation. Bali is showing its dynamic adoptive ability to global changes despite worry about negative impact of tourism such as losing of tradition, Westernization, and weakening identity through acculturation process by being exposed to globalization. Therefore, tourism is not threatening entity but positive stage where global and local encounter. At the same time, tradition is not fixed heritage but creative heritage to be changed by internal and external dynamics.
