On the 14th of February 2023, Bali will introduce its new tourism tax. The long-anticipated tourism levy will be charged to all international tourists visiting the island.
Now the Indonesian Tourism Board has laid out more details about what to expect.
Wonderful Indonesia has described the upcoming tourism tax as a sustainable tourism initiative. It has now been confirmed that the most effective way for tourist to pay their fee will be online, prior to arrival in Bali.
Tourists will be able to make use of the Love Bali website and smartphone app. The site and application have been up and running for years but until now have largely been underused and little-known resources to tourists.
The Love Bali website has heaps of information about tourist attractions in Bali, upcoming events, and travel advice from the provincial government.
The process of paying the tourism levy is straightforward and will certainly be best to complete before arriving in Bali.
Once tourists have downloaded the Love Bali app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, or opened up lovebali.baliprov.go.id the next step is to enter personal details and choose the payment method. Most tourists will make a simple online card payment.
Once paid, the tourism levy voucher will be emailed over and tourists must then keep this on hand on their smartphones to scan at the checkpoint at Bali Airport, and sea ports.
Wonderful Indonesia is clear that this hassle-free process is “a small step towards big changes in protecting culture and nature.”
Not all foreigners entering Bali must pay the tourism levy. There are a number of visa categories that are exempt from paying the fee, this includes diplomatic and official visa holders, conveyance crew, KITAS and KITAP holders, family unification visas, golden and student visa holders, and specific non-tourist visa holders.
Tourists on the eVOA, and VOA must pay the IDR 150,000 fee. Both the tourism tax payment and application for exemption can be applied for up to a month before travel.
Tourists are also being encouraged to apply for their visa on arrival online prior to their flight to Bali. This online visa process must be completed on a different website from the Love Bali site.
The e-Visa on Arrival and the short stay visas can be applied for and extended only using the Department of Immigration’s only official site: https://molina.imigrasi.go.id/ – the site is known to crash on occasion and does not respond quickly when using a VPN. Keep trying.
According to Wonderful Indonesia, there are three main areas where the tourism levy funds will be invested.
The first is to ‘Preserve Heritage’. They say funds will be spent “protecting Balinese customs, traditions, arts, and local wisdom, ensuring the sustainable culture of Bali island.”
The second is to ‘Nurture Nature’. They add that tourists will “contribute to the nobility and preservation of Bali’s unique culture and natural environment making it an even more beautiful destination.”
Thirdly, the funds will “Evaluate Your Experience” with Wonderful Indonesia noting that funds will “improve the quality of service and Balinese cultural tourism management, promising you a safe and enjoyable travel adventure in Bali.”
Though Wonderful Indonesia and the previous provincial government have been clear that funds will be spent on protecting and preserving culture, the current Acting Governor of Bali has said that funds will initially be spent on tackling the island’s waste management issues with up to 70% of initial tourism levy funds being sent in that direction.
The new tourism levy and sustainable tourism campaign will also be used as an opportunity to promote lesser-visited areas of Bali.
Speaking this week at his weekly press conference the Indonesian Tourism Minster Sandiaga Uno said “The Acting Governor and Head of the Tourism Office have promoted tourism in North Bali, West Bali, and East Bali. We are also encouraging more investment outside South Bali so that it is distributed.”
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Zilla
Tuesday 9th of January 2024
You want to preserve culture and nature how about stopping mass development and destruction of green zones Just another greedy plot to make more cash to fund more big development. It's getting out of hand. Good luck to the future of the island of God's🙏
Alex
Monday 8th of January 2024
Entry requirements for Bali now : Pay for a visa - a tourist tax Pay "an agent" scam in advance for anything above a 30 days e- VOA Pay the levy tourist tax Complete the e- customs declaration None of these are needed for Thailand 30 days, Singapore 90 days, Malaysia 90 days, or Vietnam up to 15 days for UK and major EU nations. No other country in ASEAN requires a customs declaration at all. After 30 years visiting Bali I am giving up on it. I will never return again. It's just too much trouble!
Passing Bye
Tuesday 9th of January 2024
@Alex, Vietnam 45 days for a few nationalities now, the UK is one of them right?
Jen
Monday 8th of January 2024
Why hasn't there been an article on this site about the recent reclassification of Bali spas under the entertainment category, and with it, a jump of government tax to FORTY PERCENT?? It's nuts. Prices of spa services will jump nearly 50% because they need to pass the costs down to the consumers. It doesn't even make SENSE for spas to be under entertainment instead of health and wellness, much less for the tax to increase by nearly 4 times. How this hasn't been widely reported and complained about I have no idea. I hate that all this stuff is happening before a preplanned trip - brought our tickets, booked accom, and have to go to Bali even though I don't want to line officials' pockets further.
Kazu
Sunday 7th of January 2024
It'll take more than 'tax' to fix Bali's problems...
Used to travel through Java see rubbish and general filth everywhere, and it was a relief to return to a relatively clean Bali.
Now one travels to Java, and is most impressed at how much they have cleaned up their cities... return to Bali, and there's rubbish and general filth in the most unbelievable of places...
What the hell has happened?
You cannot blame tourists, they bring huge amounts of income that would allow any normal society to deal with these most basic of issues.
Java has cleaned up their act without the huge income Bali enjoys
And now Bali has it's hand out for a 'tourism tax' to fix the most basic of infrastructure problems...
You look like beggars
beggars with a gucci handbag
Fiona
Sunday 7th of January 2024
The Beach Clubs do little for Bali just another way to extort cash out of visitors. I would like to see them heavily regulated. Finn's has a disgusting attitude. They attract 1000's to the beach for fireworks but take no responsibility for an almost crowd crush at the end. How does that work exactly? There could have been another exit route from the beach through or around Finn's and other clubs which would avoid a crush??
Kazu
Monday 8th of January 2024
@Fiona,
I think u underestimate how much $$$ they enrich once small time regional leaders...
Beach clubs aren't going anywhere... in fact, they are spreading like the plague... the bukit is sadly following the canggu model...
But yes, I agree, they're a scourge, the worst kind of tourism and tourists to encourage.