Tourists visiting Bali this festive season must pay their Bali Tourism Tax Levy fee. The mandatory fee costs IDR 150,000 per person and applies to children.
The Bali Tourism Office has just completed a round of spot checks on tourists, and more are expected during the festive season.
On Wednesday, 4th December, officers from the Bali Tourism Office conducted spot checks on tourists at Tanah Lot Temple.
Data collected by the Bali Tourism Office shows that as many as 60% of all international arrivals have been failing to pay their fee.
As mitigation, officers have been holding regular spot checks at top cultural attractions since May 2024.
Tanah Lot is one of Bali’s most famous cultural landmarks and welcomes hundreds of thousands of tourists every year.
Officers from the Bali Tourism Board do not approach tourist during their visit to cultural landmarks, but conduct the spot checks the entry and exit to the venues. This way tourists visits are not disrupted.
Tourists are expected to be able to print QR-code vouchers for Bali Tourism Office staff and Bali Tourism Task Force Officers upon request. The QR code voucher is sent to tourists via email once they have paid their fee.
Those who are found to not have paid the fee will be asked to make payment on the spot via a card payment; the Tourism Tax Levy cannot be paid in cash.
Paying the Bali Tourism Tax Levy is pretty straightforward; some hotels and resorts are able to process payment for their guests, and it is possible to pay the fee on arrival at I Gutsi Ngurah Rai International Airport.
However, by far, the easiest way to make a payment is to visit the LoveBali website and complete the payment online. Just like the Indonesian Immigration website, the LoveBali site does not work if there are ad-blockers or VPNs operating on the browser.
It is also best to complete the process using a desktop, as the site can feel glitchy on a mobile device.
Once on the LoveBali website, tourists can simply click ‘Pay Tourist Levy’ and fill out the form. The process must be completed separately for each member of the traveling party.
On the Indonesian Immigration website, eVisa on Arrivals can be organized for up to five groups.
The details required to complete the Bali Tourism Tax Levy payment are the traveler’s name as it appears on their passport, their email address, passport number, and arrival date.
Payment can be made using a Visa, Mastercard, JCB, American Express, or BCA Card.
According to the official policy document for the Bali Tourism Tax Levy, tourists can expect to “receive benefit from the imposition of contributions in the form of improvement of comprehensive, integrated and up-to-date tourism information services, cleaner, more beautiful and sustainable nature environment.”
In addition to “customs, traditions, arts, and culture as well as local wisdom that are diverse and have a spiritual aura (metals); cleanliness, order, comfort, and security in the tourist destination area; service in disaster; and better quality service and implementation of Bali tourism.”
As Governor Wayan Koster takes on a second term as leader of the province, there could be changes to the cards for the Bali Tourism Tax Levy in the coming months.
Two of the most frequent criticisms of the policy are that there has been no detailed budget set out explaining how these tax funds will be spent and that the improvement outlined in the policy document are set to be realised.
The second is that in the absence of any punishment for not paying the fee, tourists have little incentive to make the contribution, whether it is a legal requirement or not.
In October, the head of the Bali Tourism Office, Tjok Bagus Pemayun, talked to reporters about introducing smart technology to catch tourists who have failed to pay their tax contributions.
He told reporters that he and his teams are working on implementing auto-scanner technologies at Bali Airport to help streamline the process and secure the funds for the province.
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Sven
Monday 9th of December 2024
Don't pay for the corruption.
Paul
Saturday 7th of December 2024
Went to bali and have no plan's to pay this bule tax its a tax to put money in the political system and not for the people.No account has been released to show where the money is going and what it is going to pay for.
Tom
Friday 6th of December 2024
1. If people aren't paying the fee, it's because Bali isn't collecting the fee. It should be done at the airport. 2. Reread your description of how to use the LoveBali app. You really think that's the simplest way? Ridiculous.
Peter
Friday 6th of December 2024
Still no announcement of a budget for the tax,and exactly what it will be spent on,come on in succers