As Bali continues to battle against a small but significant number of badly behaved foreigners on the island, leaders are working on new approaches to tackle the problem.
From a dedicated task force to a specialist helpline for concerned residents, there has been lots of progress. But the latest measure will certainly raise some questions.
The TPI Ngurah Rai Immigration Office is calling on all tourism accommodations in Bali to support the island-wide mission to crack down on badly behaved foreigners.
To do so, accommodation providers like hotels, private villas, B&Bs, and guesthouses will be called to report data on their guests via an app.
The app will also be available for the general public to download and make reports against tourists they feel are violating Indonesian law or local Balinese customs and culture.
The Head of the TPI Special Class I Immigration Office, Ngurah Rai Sugito, told reporters that the Foreigner Reporting App (APOA) helps to improve the ‘supervision’ of tourists on the island. He explained, “Thanks to reporting in APOA, we can quickly deal with foreigners who commit violations,”
The APOA app has been developed by the Directorate General of Immigration to make it easier for concerned residents and businesses in Bali to report the whereabouts and the actions of foreigners visiting or living in Bali. The app is available to download on the Play Store or via the official website APOA, immigration.go.id.
Sugito told the media that cooperation across the island is needed to help stamp out illegal and disrespectful behavior by foreigners.
He shared that with an average of 18,000 arrivals onto the island every day, surveillance of visitors is essential.
Sugito confirmed that he and his teams will be intensifying their efforts to get accommodation owners, tourism businesses, and local residents to feel confident about how, when, and why they should be reporting foreigners violating local law.
During the press conference launch of the new strategy, Sugito said, “There are around eighteen thousand foreigners coming to Bali per day.”
“Naughty foreigners who are subject to sanctions include abusing residence permits, bypassing residence permits, and criminal acts that violate the legal norms and rules in force in Indonesia.”
Updated figures shared by the Bali Regional Office of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights show that by the end of August 2023, a total of 188 foreigners were deported from the sailed.
The deportees hailed from 45 countries, including 12 Austrian citizens, 13 British citizens, 14 US citizens, and 9 Nigerian citizens.
So concerned Bali lovers have even more tools at their disposal for reporting illegal and disrespectful behavior by tourists.
The new app, the hotline, and the Tourism Task Force are all ways in which the authorities are making dedicated reporting mechanisms for concerned residents.
Earlier this year, in the highest of the bad behavior, many people were taking to social media in order to catch the attention of the authorities through viral videos of badly behaved tourists on the grounds that they felt unheard by officials or did not know how else to lodge complaints.
The hotline is still up and running, though officials have not yet disliked how many calls the number receives.
Speaking at the time of the hotline launch in July, the Director General of Immigration for Indonesia, Silmy Karim, committed to eliminating bad behavior by tourists on the island.
Director General Karim told the public, “We, from the Bali Becik Task Force, invite the people of Bali to report foreigners who violate the hotline number 08 139 9679 966.”
“Community participation is certainly very much needed in supervising and taking action against unruly tourists.”
The Bali Becik Task Force has been ordered to complete 100 immigration control missions every month.
These missions have already resulted in legal action, fines, restorative justice meetings, and in some cases deportation of tourists found guilty of breaking Indonesian law.
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David Moore
Saturday 23rd of September 2023
Who knew the Austrians were so badly behaved, maybe meant Australians
Art
Sunday 24th of September 2023
@David Moore,
Yes, and the Swiss. Terribly rude.
Noted here is the Russian culprits seems to be avoiding the news lately. Why? Perhaps they occupy a different level of corruption? It's quite appalling to visit the Polie Station to get a Driver's License and see how they appear to work in the same offices as the people in uniforms. Where we live there are more and more every day. Like a refugee camp. And it seems their throttles on the N-Max's are stuck wide open. No laws for them. If you look at Detik News they show some Russian deportations though, mostly work violations and overstay.
Firechef
Sunday 24th of September 2023
@David Moore, I also thought it was a typo and I'm sure it was.
Exp
Sunday 24th of September 2023
@David Moore, Ha-ha. Austrians: Now the bogans of Europe.
Wayan Bo
Friday 22nd of September 2023
Anyway, most tourists have to work all year long to be able to afford a holiday, then is expected from them to behave in holiday like model citizens. - They should be warned beforehand if deciding to travel to our island. They should also get information about alternative places. For example those who like to drink to much beer become over drunk and pee around on not common places, should get suggestion to visit Oktoberfest in Munich, Bavaria, this year one liter of 🍺 beer is priced up to € 15,- also in Munich’s Hofbrauhaus they can drink beer on the table and pee under the table, Hitler was in this place too, it’s one of theirs attraction’s. - Malta is good place for those who prefer to have a real stone holidays. - The worlds best holiday place this year is Bora Bora, Bali is on 25th place.
C
Sunday 24th of September 2023
@Firechef, Food experience? You mean diarrhea and vomiting?
Firechef
Sunday 24th of September 2023
@C, Many more nicer places in the USA than in Bali, but more expensive, that's why they go to Asia, also mostly for the warmer weather in the winter and the food experience. Certainly not for the culture!
C
Saturday 23rd of September 2023
@Wayan Bo, A good comment from you this time.
But as the others have said. There's 18,000 arrivals PER DAY. Obviously if 18,000 different people are coming in on any given day, at least 1 of them is going to do something stupid. That's just human nature. If someone does something stupid, arrest them and deport them immediately. But the media coverage is overblown. Most foreigners I've seen behave perfectly fine. And like the others have also said, honestly the locals behave far worse. With the driving, the littering, the stealing, the smoking. All of it.
I as well would hate it if my home were treated like a playground for people to trash, but still statistically speaking, only a very small number of people do it, and with such high numbers of arrivals there are bound to be some idiots. Immediate arrest and deportation, and/or fines should be sufficient enough.
Also be as harsh on Russians as this article is on Europeans and Americans. It is interesting that America has a higher number of deportations, but also not surprising to me. I know Americans very well and basically no one thinks of travelling to Indonesia. So this place would attract some unique Americans who for whatever reason would want to travel so far and spend so much on that travel for a mediocre destination. These people are usually clueless about Indonesia and just "trying it out" by sheer chance. And they get here and see it's all a party and then start to behave erratically. Most Americans know absolutely zero about Indonesia since Indonesia is not relevant whatsoever to American life, so the ones who come here are usually 100% out of the loop on everything. But many are decent people. If they are directly instructed to behave properly they will. After all, those people are the type to have enough money and desire to come so far away for a land much less develop than their home, especially when they could just fly to Hawaii, and comparing Hawaii to Bali is like comparing Singapore to Batam. It's just far far nicer.
Raymond
Friday 22nd of September 2023
Good idea. To many criminals hanging out here.
Wayan Bo
Friday 22nd of September 2023
@Raymond, because only they can afford such inflationary prices in those near the recession times (US chance to join recession is about 60%, Germany 74%).
Jim T
Friday 22nd of September 2023
So what are the data protection safeguards on this app given accomodations have copies of passports? Of course the answer is none.
What stops locals and other disgruntled members of the public from abusing this mechanism?
Why can these reports not just be made to the police? Empower them to enforce the law, surely?
If this is true, i wont be booking another trip to Bali, too many alternative options in the region.
If you have deported less than 200 tourists for most of the year and receive double digit thousands of tourists every single day, what proportion have you had to deport? The numbers just don't back the concerns.
Local politics being played out at the expense of the economy, as usual.
Kosak
Monday 25th of September 2023
@Randy,
Do you work for the government?
Jim T
Sunday 24th of September 2023
@Randy, Why? Because that literally what the article says. Are you illiterate?
Seriously your entire response reads like a deranged, emotional unhinged rant dueled by a deep dislike of tourists. Either that or you are a bot, which wouldn't surprise me.
I wont even respond to your actual rant, it doesn't warrant an actual response its so dumb.
Exp
Saturday 23rd of September 2023
@Jim T, The app will be used to intimidate foreign tourists: Whenever you have a normal disagreement with a local, he/she will pull up the handphone take your photo and threaten to report you. So either you give in and accept your loss or you will have to spend hours with police or other authorities. Walking on eggshells holiday.
Randy
Saturday 23rd of September 2023
@Jim T, Would you think for a minute that bad Indonesian folks who have committed local offenses or a crime is not being reported??? If you are able to read, write and speak the Bahasa Indonesia, you can read and watch the local and nationwide news with plenty of locals doing bad things except those trashy foreign visitors who make headline news.
This is an online English news reporting about Bali for the expatriate community and from elsewhere who may be interested to know what goes on in Bali. Alas, they cannot avoid to read the one way sided biased comments from some readers on here. Sigh.
Some Western Tourists do behave as if Bali is lawless, disrespect the local culture norms or the local laws. They superimposed their own perception of the Balinese culture (or Indonesia for that matter) over the culture reality.
Would you think that in your own country of origin, you would notice foreign tourists breaking the law each day making headlines?? Most likely NOT. Tourists would not bring their own arrogance and biased mentality enough to offend the locals. They would respect the laws of the visited country and that their cultural habits would not be acceptable in a foreign country. So why would YOU think that it would be any different in Indonesia???
You wrote: “So what are the data protection safeguards on this app given accomodations have copies of passports? Of course the answer is none.” What the hell are you insinuating here?? Hotels policy in the wide world need some type of a government approved ID’s at check-in…many make a copy of it for security reason for the guests and the hotels.
Comparing oranges and apples while visiting or residing in a foreign country would not bring any consolation or any closure. The attitudes need to change otherwise, the door is always open to leave. No locals are asking foreigners to stay or hold anyone back. Why should they bend over backward for foreigners who misbehaved or put themselves above the law…
Randy
Saturday 23rd of September 2023
@Jim T, Why would you think for a second that bad Indonesian folks who have committed local offenses or a crime is not being reported??? If you are able to read, write and speak the Bahasa Indonesia, you can read and watch the local and nationwide news with plenty of locals doing bad things except those trashy foreign visitors who make headline news.
This is an online English news reporting about Bali for the expatriate community and from elsewhere who may be interested to know what goes on in Bali. Alas, they cannot avoid to read the one way sided biased comments from some readers on here. Sigh.
Some Western Tourists do behave as if Bali is lawless, disrespect the local culture norms or the local laws. They superimposed their own perception of the Balinese culture (or Indonesia for that matter) over the culture reality.
Would you think that in your own country of origin, you would notice foreign tourists breaking the law each day making headlines?? Most likely NOT. Tourists would not bring their own arrogance and biased mentality enough to offend the locals. They would respect the laws of the visited country and that their cultural habits would not be acceptable in a foreign country. So why would YOU think that it would be any different in Indonesia???
You wrote: “So what are the data protection safeguards on this app given accomodations have copies of passports? Of course the answer is none.” What the hell are you insinuating here?? Hotels policy in the wide world need some type of a government approved ID’s at check-in...many make a copy of it for security reason for the guests and the hotels.
Comparing oranges and apples while visiting or residing in a foreign country would not bring any consolation or any closure. The attitudes need to change otherwise, the door is always open to leave. No locals is asking foreigners to stay or hold anyone back. Why should they bend over backward for foreigners who misbehaved or put themselves over the law...
Ulrich Koehler
Friday 22nd of September 2023
Regards from George Orwell "1984", big brother is watching. What about protection of privacy? This procedure will put off many foreigners, whose personal data are protected in their home countries. Is it really neccessary to impose this disputable regulation, when only less than 0.01 % tourist have behaved "badly". Shooting with guns on burung gereja.
Exp
Saturday 23rd of September 2023
@Ulrich Koehler, "Protection of privacy" seems to be non existent here.
Just refer to covid rules here: App tracking your whereabouts and used to limit access to malls and gov. offices unless vaccinated, Travel restrictions unless vaccinated. Last year the idea was to store all personal health data using the same covid app. Oops.
So no surprise they want to extend the covid app system to report on foreign tourists.