Officers Conduct Spot Checks For Bali Tourism Tax

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

Top tourism officials are confident that all tourists should be up to speed with the new system by now, so the newly established Tourism Police Units will conduct spot checks to ensure everyone has paid their dues. 

Speaking to reporters, the Head of the Bali Tourism Department, Tjok Bagus Pemayun, explained, “Inspections will be carried out starting next week, March 26th, 2024, to be precise. We will target tourist attractions in Bali including Uluwatu, Tanah Lot, Ulun Danu Beratan and also Tampaksiring.’

Officers from the Tourism Satpol Police Units, who have been conducting patrols since their deployment in February, will carry out the inspections.

The tourism police are accompanied by their four-legged mascots, their Kintamani puppies.

These puppies are on hand to be ‘tourist friends,’ act as conversation starters, and generally help keep interactions with police and tourists more lighthearted. 

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According to Pemayun, only 40% of all foreign tourist arrivals have been paying their tourism tax fee since the program launched on February 14th, 2024.

He explained, “Since the foreign tourist levy was implemented, an average of 5,000 foreign tourists paid per day.”

This is why the spot checks will be carried out starting next week. Pemayun explained that all leading tourism stakeholders on the island, including the Indonesian Tourism Industry Association, have supported the idea.

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The Bali Tourism Department has confirmed that spot checks on tourists will be conducted at the entrance and to tourist attractions in and around Uluwatu and Tampaksiring, as well as at Tanah Lot and Ulun Danu Beratan specifically.

The spot checks will require tourists to show their Tourism Tax Levy Voucher, which they will receive via email from LoveBali after payment.

The voucher consists of a QR code that will need to be shown to the inspectors. Failure to do so will result in tourists being invited to pay their tourism tax there and then, just the straight-up IDR 150,000 per person at this point, with no fines yet announced for failure to pay. 

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Tourists are invited to pay their tourism tax for their visit to Bali by the time they leave the island.

However, the Bail Tourism Office and Wonderful Indonesia are encouraging tourists to pay their tourism tax fee as early as possible to avoid any delays and to have the voucher ready to show inspectors should they be asked. 

It is possible to pay the tourism tax up to 14 days before arrival in Bali via the LoveBali smartphone app or website.

Although the site had connectivity issues in the first few weeks, the page is now loading consistently, and the process of paying the tourism tax is explained in a step-by-step guide in English. 

Tourists who wish to pay on arrival in Bali are welcome to do so. There is a tourism tax payment counter in the arrivals terminal of I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, where new arrivals can pay their IDR 150,000 fee by card.

Tourists arriving at the domestic terminal will soon be able to pay their fees at a dedicated counter in the domestic arrivals hall.

The new payment counter should be open by the end of the month, as suggested by the Head of the Bali Tourism Office, Tjok Bagus Pemayun, earlier this week. 

It is now a legal requirement for all foreign tourists arriving in Bali Province to pay the tourism tax.

The legislation has been drafted into Indonesian Law Number 15/2023 concerning the Province of Bali, especially Article 8, paragraphs (3) and (4).

Then Regional Regulation Number 6 of 2023 concerning Levies for Foreign Tourists for the Protection of Bali’s Culture and Natural Environment, and the Bali Gubernatorial Regulation Number 2 of 2024 concerning Procedures for Payment of Levies for Foreign Tourists.