New Good Tourist Guide Will Be Given To All Visitors On Arrival In Bali

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Officials in Bali have confirmed that the new good tourist guide will be handed to tourists as they pass through immigration at the island’s airport.

The guide, in the form of an information card, will be given to all international arrivals landing at I Gusti Ngurah Rai when it is published in the next few weeks. 

As tourists land at Bali Airport, they are welcomed with views of the island’s vast beaches, expansive jungle, and a glimpse of Denpasar city.

In the coming weeks, when tourists are stamped into Indonesia, they will not only receive a visa sticker in their passport but also an information card outlining the do’s and don’ts of travel on the island. 

The much anticipated good tourist guide has been talked about by the island’s leading officials for weeks and comes as part of a bigger mission to ensure that Balinese unquiet culture and heritage are preserved and celebrated within tourism on the island.

Following an apparent rise in unruly behavior by some foreigners on the island, officials have been keen to be proactive in ensuring such actions are stamped out. 

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Speaking to the media, the Head of the Regional Office of the Bali Ministry of Law and Human Rights, Anggiat Napitupulu, explained that the information card will give tourists arriving on the island a clear outline of what is and isn’t acceptable behavior during their visit. 

He explained, “The card will be created and handed over at Immigration so that the Immigration can tuck the card into the foreigner’s passport when they land at I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport.” 

The good tourist guide is being created in partnership with the Bali Tourism Office, the Provincial Government, and the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, who work alongside immigration authorities. 

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Napitupulu continued, “We have had several meetings. The tourism office is formulating the [copywriting]. So, it will be either in the form of a pocket-sized sheet or a card. The card contains what is allowed and what is not allowed to be done in Bali.”

He also gave an update about the billboards that were announced earlier this year. Napitupulu shared that a number of sites have been identified for the information signboards that will also contain the do’s and don’t of how to behave in Bali. The billboards will display the guidelines for tourists in English, Russian, and in Hindi. 

News that the good tourist guide will be handed directly to every visitor arriving in Bali comes just days after Bali’s Deputy Governor suggested further novel solutions to prevent bad behavior from tourists.

Deputy Governor Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardana Sukawati, who is also known as Cok Ace, suggested that billboards or posters be displayed at sites where tourists have been caught disobeying the law or cultural norms.

Cok Ace suggested that rather than naming and shaming violators in the media, which comes with potential human rights and privacy issues, the provincial government should install signage outlining the nature of violations in such places and the nature of the consequences to violators. 

So, for example, at the famous Kayu Putih temple tree, a signboard would be installed outlining how a foreigner was caught posing inappropriately for photos in the roots of the tree and was subsequently deported for violating the law on public indecency and behaving in a sacrilegious way at a holy site for Balinese Hindus. 

The good tourist guide is set to be a valuable resource for tourists, especially for those who are visiting Bali or even Asia for the first time.

The guide is set to outline tourist etiquette for visiting temples, reminders about the laws on driving in Indonesia, cultural taboos, and tips on how to make the most of a trip to Bali, including attending traditional ceremonies and trying local food. 

A similar resource has already been shared by the national tourism board, Wonderful Indonesia, which received good feedback.

Last week, as commentary in some online spaces was beginning to suggest that tourists were thinking twice about visiting the island in light of recent announcements regarding policy changes for tourists and cracking down on behavior, the Indonesian Tourism Minster shared his reassurances. 

Minister for Tourism and Creative Economies Sandiaga Uno assured tourists planning their trip to Bali that the red carpet will continue to be rolled out.

He also vowed that any policy changes affecting tourism in Bali and across Indonesia would be subject to rigorous assessment before being written into legislation.