New Tourism Tax Payment Counters Coming To Bali Airport

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Officials in Bali have confirmed that more tourism tax payment counters will be installed and made available for immediate use at Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport.

The move has been supported by the hundreds of travel agencies who have been on the frontline of combating flaws in the newly introduced system.

The Bali Tourism Tax Levy was introduced on the 14th of February, 2024.

The policy, written into provincial legislation, means that all international tourists visiting Bali must pay a mandatory IDR 150,000 tourism tax.

This fee can be paid before, during, or just before departing Bali and can be paid online via the Love Bali website and app, or in person at dedicated counters at Bali Airport. 

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Funds generated by the Bali Tourism Tax Levy are set to be used for three areas of improvement on the island.

Funds will be used to protect and preserve Balinese culture, to ‘nurture nature’, and to improve tourism infrastructure around the island.

The Acting Governor of Bali, Sang Made Mahendra Jaya, has already committed 50-70% of the first available funds generated from the tax to be spent on tackling the island’s mounting waste management crisis.

An effort that will benefit local communities, tourists, and the environment. 

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Yet, it has been revealed that despite widespread marketing campaigns, plenty of discussion online, and communications with international travel agents and embassies, upwards of 60% of international arrivals in Bali eligible to pay the Bali Tourism Tax Levy have not done so since February 14th. 

Leaders have acknowledged ‘flaws’ in the system and have set out to rectify these issues.

One key way they feel they can solve the issue of tourists not paying their fees is to install more payment counters at Bali Airport so tourists can pay on arrival.

Since there is already a kiosk in the international arrivals hall of I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport, leaders are now speeding up the process of installing payment counters at the domestic terminal, and for good reason. 

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The Chairman of the Bali Tours and Travel Agencies Associations (ASITA), Putu Winastra, explained to reporters, “Many foreign tourists don’t have direct flights to Bali, especially from Europe; they don’t go straight to Bali because their stay is almost two weeks. They will start from Central Java, East Java, and then Bali.”

It’s important to note that the IDR 150,000 fee is applicable to Bali Province only, including Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nusa Ceningan. Tourists visiting anywhere else in Indonesia do not need to pay this fee. 

ASITA has calculated that the Bali Tourism Tax Levy has so far generated IDR 60 billion, however, with only 40% of tourists paying their fees, there is a huge deficit in the predicted funds. 

Wisatra told reporters “we hope that the government will collaborate the with private sector to increase the levy target. Now the government is the executor [of the programme]. Our hope is that the government will just become the regulator for the sake of efficiency.”

In Bali, there are currently 300 travel agents who are facilitators of the Bali Tourism Tax Levy.

Unlike independent travelers, registered travel agents can apply for and process the Bali Tourism Tax Levy for up to 500 tourists at a time. 

As a result of so many tourists failing to make their Bali Tourism Tax Levy the Provincial Tourism Office has instructed the newly deployed Tourism Satpol Police Units to conduct spot checks on tourists at top attractions.

Tourists are reminded that it is a legal requirement to pay the Bali Tourism Tax Levy and that they should keep their QR-code voucher easily available, either saved on their phones as a file that is available offline or in printed form.