Rural tourism, in the form of small-scale, locally owned tourism businesses, has become a priority that must be supported by the government to be more beneficial for the local community. The objective of this study was to develop a conceptual model of rural tourism in order to make rural tourism in Bali more competitive globally. This research was conducted in Bali during April–June 2020 by following a systems thinking approach. The methodology employed was a soft systems methodology and utilized interpretive structural modeling (ISM). Twenty persons were chosen purposively as key informants (experts). Data collection was carried out through focus group discussions (FGDs) and questionnaires. The results indicated that the goals of sustainable rural tourism are to improve local community welfare, to conserve the environment, and to preserve culture and heritage. Managing rural tourism requires efforts in destination quality, service excellence, hospitality, reasonable pricing, and ease of access. Finally, this paper proposes methods to support sustainable rural tourism in Bali.
