Bali lawmakers have proposed raising the current 150,000 rupiah ($13.75) tourism tax to 750,000 rupiah ($68.75) to prevent the international travel market’s “bottom” from flooding the popular Indonesian holiday destination.
“I think the 150,000 rupiah tax is too low, so Bali seems like a cheap tourist destination,” Bali Regional Legislative Council leader, Kresna Budi, told reporters last week.
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Budi added the travellers who visit Bali should be of “higher quality,” as opposed to the belligerent and often-times problematic riffraff it’s become synonymous with; while citing the millions of rupiah Indonesians are required to pay for a visa to Britain.
“Why should Bali be sold cheaply?”
“There is this problem because usually, those who act up are members of the bottom [lower-spending tourists],” he said (via The Bali Sun).
Back in early 2024, the travel levy was introduced to fund improvements to the island’s education and health sectors; in addition to the more obvious channels of tourism initiatives. But according to The Straits Times, only 40% of the estimated 2.2 million inbound visitors since the tax’s implementation have ponied up.
BaliDiscovery notes the fee collection “has been plagued by inefficiency, with only a minority of foreign visitors actually paying.”
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Bali tourism chief Tjok Bagus Pemayun reveals stricter enforcement at Denpasar International Airport is now on the cards, which included automated scanners once upon a time (before this fell through due to space constraints).
The amended Bali tourism tax is now being considered by Acting Governor Sang Made Mahendra Jaya.
“We want the handling [of badly behaved tourists] to be fully carried out and not half-hearted,” said Acting Governor Jaya.
Now check out the 11 greatest Airbnb villas available to book in Bali right now (including the one featured above).
