Bali Tourism Tax Funds Must Benefit Tourists Quickly Says Top Official

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Bali’s Tourism Tax has been in effect for nearly two weeks.

The new sustainable tourism initiative is set to help preserve and protect the island’s culture and the natural landscape.

It is also supposed to fund real, impactful changes for tourists. 

During a meeting held by tourism officials in Denpasar on Friday evening, local politician Made Mangku Prastika proposed that the Bali Provincial Government must utilise the newly generated funds as quickly as possible.

He wants to prove to tourist that their IDR 150,000 (USD 10 approx) contribution is being put to good use straight away. 

He told the gathered leaders and stakeholders, “The mechanism of using the foreign tourism levy is through the APBD (annual provincial budget), which can only be used in 2025. However, action is still needed regarding benefits that can be felt quickly.”

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Prastika’s sentiments are echoed by many other key leaders in Bali and the tourism space more broadly. Acting Governor of Bali, Sang Made Mahendra Jaya, has previously told the media that he, too, wants to see the impact of these new funds felt as quickly as possible. He has said on a number of occasions that funds must be used first and foremost to tackle Bali’s waste management issues.

While many people are on board with Jaya’s wish to spend 50-70% of the first wave of funds generated on tackling open landfill sites, others feel that this is not something for tourists.

Though tourists have not yet been surveyed about what they would or wouldn’t be happy for their tax to be spent on, the most important issue for tourists, outside of the quality of attraction and cleanliness of natural landscapes, is traffic.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that tourists would want to see congestion solutions funded first and foremost. 

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The Acting Governor of Bali has told reporters, “There must be quick action that the Bali Provincial Government can take together with stakeholders, especially the tourism industry, regarding the problems facing Bali, for example, in overcoming waste and traffic jams.”

The Bali Provincial Government has noted that short-term, high-impact solutions that can be implemented and funded by tourism tax revenue include beach clean-ups.

These activities can involve Bali Provincial staff and tourism stakeholders and make a real difference to tourists. It’s also an activity that is visible to tourists. 

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The Acting Governor of Bali added that tourism tax revenue could also be spent on improving public transport access to the top government-managed attractions and implementing better control of illegal parking in tourist resorts, which causes more havoc on the roads than necessary.  

Jaya noted, “At least tourists who come must feel that there have been changes in terms of service, cleanliness, and traffic jams.”

However, when the first round of tourism tax funds is spent, what is clear is that transparency is key. Officials have all been conscious to note that tourism tax funds cannot be ‘leaked’ into other spending budgets.

The tax has been implemented as a new piece of legislation and has, in theory, been written up in such a way that funds can only be used to preserve cultural heritage, protect the natural landscape, and improve infrastructure that directly benefits tourists.

Tourism Association Chairman Nyoman Astama told reporters, “It is important to monitor leaks, and it must be clear what guests are getting after paying. Indeed, creating tourist trust is not easy.”

Late last week, it was confirmed by top tourism officials that despite all marketing material for the tourism tax directing tourists to pay the tax only before arrival due to errors on the website and application, tourists are not allowed to pay on arrival at Bali Airport or at their accommodation.

It appears the website is now up and running, though it was unresponsive for many people for much of the first week the tourism tax came into effect.

It is worth trying the Love Bali website and app a couple of times, but if it is unresponsive, don’t waste time or get stressed; pay on arrival at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International.