Tourists Don’t Mind Paying Bali Tourism Tax Says Top Official

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Top officials from the Indonesian Minister for Tourism and Creative Economies say that tourists don’t mind paying the newly implemented tourism tax.

The USD 10 fee is mandatory for all international tourists arriving in the province. 

A spokesperson for the Ministry for Tourism and Creative Economies, Nia Niscaya, held a press conference on Monday in Jakarta to discuss the first week of the new tourism tax.

She also discussed the future of the tourism relationship between India and Indonesia. 

Niscaya said that the Ministry has been in discussions with embassies and ambassadors around the world regarding the new tourism levy.

She told reporters, “When I happened to be invited yesterday by our embassy in New Delhi, there was an event called the Indonesia India forum in the context of 75 years of bilateral relations.”

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Niscaya revealed that the representative of the Indian tourism industry said that most tourists are not too fussed about paying the extra USD 10 fee (IDR 150,000) on or before arriving in Bali.

She noted, “They said that as long as the purpose [of the tax] was clear, especially for sustainability issues, cultural and environmental issues, then they welcomed it.”

She added, “The important challenge here is that our communication must be clear about its purpose, and its management must be contained within a good governance structure.”

It seems that Indian tourists are representative of most tourists from around the world. Over 9,000 tourists volunteered to pay the tourism tax between 7th and 13th February during the trial periods before the tax became mandatory on the 14th of February.

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Since the topic has been discussed in the media for over six months and has been widely advertised by the National Tourism Board, the new fee has hardly come as a shock to tourists. 

There is still a way to go; however, as with any new system, there are some obstacles that officials want to see ironed out.

The Deputy Chairman of the Bali Tourism Industry Association, Nyoman Astama, is calling on airlines to step up and help communicate the new tourism tax to tourists when they book their flights to Bali. 

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Astama said It’s a shame, for example, if someone misses it.” He wanted to see more efforts made to communicate the new tax to all incoming tourists so that maximum funds could be generated for the protection and preservation of Balinese culture, tourism infrastructure, and more. 

He noted that there are more than 30 airlines flying intentionally into Bali. Astama said, “It is through this collaboration that the provisions for payment of levies will be socialized to passengers.”

He also wants to see airlines showing recommendations to foreign tourists to make the tourism tax payment before checking in online. 

There could still be changes on the cards for the new tourism tax system as the initiative finds its flow. At present, tourists who have paid their tourism tax levy before arriving will be sent a QR-code voucher that must be scanned on arrival.

Similarly, those who pay on arrival will also need to show their printed voucher to a staff member with a handheld scanner.

The potential stumbling block is that there are only seven handheld scanning devices for the voucher codes. In the high season, Bali welcomes upwards of 36,000 people a day.

This would mean each scanner would have to process over 5,000 people per day, and this would inevitably result in queues if a longer-term solution is put in place. 

Last week, the Head of the Bali Tourism Office, Tjok Bagus Pemayun, said that he and his teams are working to establish new solutions to ensure that the tourism tax process does not cause hassle, stress, or unnecessary queues for tourists who are eager to start their vacation the moment they touch down on the Island of the Gods.