Two of the towns I used to live in, Santa Barbara, California and Eugene, Oregon had short festivals that were great. People would come from all over each state to attend and mark it on their calendar for next year.
The reason they would do that was during the events, each town was transformed almost, with streets closed off, beer gardens, food vendors, special events, multiple music stages and street performers. In Santa Barbara the Fiesta lasted 4 days, in Eugene the Eugene Celebration lasted for 3 days, starting on Friday, finishing Sunday. With a short time-line the organizers were able to pack in a lot of events and create a really magical atmosphere. It didn't matter whether you were a local of a tourist, there was something going on all over town.
The Kuta Karnival is a week long and the general energy level is pretty low. Most tourists probably don't know what it's all about; some wouldn't even know it was on. With the assets Bali has, the Kuta Karnival and Nusa Dua Festival should be 2 of the biggest calendar tourist events in SE Asia. We have great weather, great beaches, surfing, great hotels, restaurants, water sports, nightlife, shopping. These events should be re-designed and shouted from the rooftops by the tourist industry. A re-designed Nusa Dua Festival and Kuta Karnival should in my opinion mirror the Eugene Celebration and create a street party atmosphere and a schedule of events that is loaded with excitement. You want someone who attends it to tell all their friends and mark it on their calendar for next year. You want people who have never been to Bali asking about it. I think Kuta's selection of existing nightlife venues could work hand in hand with a street party approach. You use the energy and attention of the evening street party to lead people into the clubs and away from Seminyak for a weekend, thereby helping the local Kuta economy.
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