Bali Governor Reveals No Specific Plan On How Tourism Tax Funds Will Be Spent

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The Acting Governor of Bali, Sang Made Mahendra Jaya, has issued new statements regarding the Bali Tourism Tax.

The initiative was introduced on the 14th of February, and funds are set to be spent on nurturing nature, preserving culture, and living up to tourism infrastructure. 

Acting Governor Jaya has spoken to reporters once again about how these funds will be spent.

While the tourism tax has been a legal requirement for all international arrivals in Bali since 14th February, there have been growing concerns that over 60% of tourists have not been paying their way. 

Acting Governor Jaya has previously spoken about how 50-70% of the initial funds raised via the Bali Tourism Tax would be sent directly to tackling the island waste management issues, though in a statement shared with the media on Tuesday, 11th June, it seems he and his teams have reevaluated what a top priority is. 

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Acting Governor Jaya told the media, “In principle, fees from foreign tourists should not cause a stir at first because this is the initial stage. We will continue to evaluate, and in the future, various ways will be implemented to maximize levies.”

He went on to say that the funds generated from the levy will be used to preserve the province’s nature and culture, though he did not elaborate on exactly how.

Acting Governor Jaya explained, “We continue to socialize this [tax] to every foreign tourist who comes to Bali…This eve has not been detained for anything in detail. In the APBD (provincial budget), new changes will be discussed. We must be accountable for this levy, not only to the people of Bali but to the world.”

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The acting governor also touched upon requests made by the mayor of Denpasar, IGN Jaya Negara, who stated that funds generated by tourism tax funds should be used to nurture nature, preserve culture, and support Hindus outside of Bali.

Last month, the Mayor of Denpasar called on the Bali Provincial Government to consider using Tourism Tax funds for uses other than to nurture nature, preserve Balinese culture, and level up tourism infrastructure. 

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Negara told reporters, “Hindus exist in various regions in Indonesia. The hope is that a percentage of the tourist levy can be allocated to Hindus outside of Bali.”

“Hopefully…it will be outlined by PHDI Bali to be prosed to anyone who will be the Governor of Bali that at least 5-10 percent of the levies will be used to benefit people outside of Bali.”

The Head of the Bali Provincial Tourism Office, Tjok Bagus Pemayun, said that although the levy is up and running, the department is still encountering obstacles in ensuring all tourists pay their fees.

Pemayun told reporters, “One of [the issues] is that it is not possible to install autoscanner gate devices at airports to ensure that tourists who have come to Bali have paid or not.” 

Though new autogates have been installed at Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, at both the international arrivals and departure terminals, these scanners are strictly for immigration purposes only.

The autogates are connected to the central immigration system and border security management systems, and it is not possible to integrate the scanning process for the Bali Tourism Tax, which is a provincial policy.

Pemayun added that since the Bali Tourism Tax was launched in February 2024, IDR 114.6 billion has been generated.

He added, “This is the current achievement; evaluations continue to be carried out, so we are trying to carry out monitoring equations at serval tourist attractions. The socialization is also to convey whether tourists have paid or not, and it turns out that [now] the majority have paid.”