Tourists Warned To Seek Permission Before Flying Drones In Bali

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Tourists in Bali are being warned to ask permission before flying drones anywhere on the island.

The updates come as one top tourist attraction has just banned drones in the area on the basis of public safety. 

Tourists are now prohibited from flying drones anywhere in and around Penglipuran Village. The General Manager of Penglipuran Tourism Village, Wayan Sumiarsa, told reporters that there are several reasons why this decision has been made. 

The first is to protect tourists who are visiting the village, and the resident community.

The decision has also been made to help protect the ancient buildings of the village, incurring the temples and homes over and around which tourists and content creators had previously been allowed to fly drones. 

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Sumiarsa said, “When a drone accident occurs, [damage] to both the surrounding buildings or tourists cannot be covered by fees paid by tourists [to fly drones].”

He noted that drone control systems had been known to be unpredictable and that accidents have happened in the past, especially when drones are flown by untrained drone pilots.

There is no concrete way for the Penglipuran tourism management team to know if a tourist with a drone knows what they’re doing or not. 

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Up until now tourists were required to pay IDR 150,000 for a ticket to fly a drone in Penglipuran Village, and there has been on average five tourists every day taking advantage of this ticketing option.

However, Penglipuran Village does not have an insurance policy that covers drone flying, nor do most drone operators have insurance covering their actions. 

He also noted that the community and the tourism management team have raised concerns that drone footage captured from Penglipuran Village may have been used for purposeds other than to showcase tourism experiences on social media.

He added “with these considerations in mind, our internal management agreed not to allow tourists to fly drones.”

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Tourists are still more than welcome to use professional cameras, GoPro, and action cameras, as well as phone photography throughout the village.

In fact, taking photos is one of the most popular activities for tourists who visit Penglipuran Village.

So much so that the management team is working with the community to create clothing rental stalls throughout the village; tourists can now rent traditional Balinese dress to take their experience of Penglipuran Village to a more immersive level. 

While Penglipuran Village has banned drones from the area, there are still many attractions where drones are permitted.

However, it is essential that tourists ask permission before flying drones and are confident drone pilots before considering flying over crowds of people, livestock or areas where wildlife resides. 

According to Bali Shoot, drones under 2kg for recreational use are permitted in Bali. Non-commercial drones are not permitted to fly over 150m, and must avoid flying within 15km of airports and densely populated areas. Drones cannot be flown at night. 

There are also specific rules about which temples can and cannot be flown over and around.

It is essential to remember that Bali’s temples are an alive and thriving part of daily life on the island and are not deconsecrated historical artefacts.

Photography of any kind is prohibited in many temples, and flying over or around a temple with a drone can cause issues.

It is also essential to get permission to fly a drone over private land, too; this includes farming and agricultural lands such as rice paddies. 

If in doubt, it is also best to check with Bali’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation, tourist attraction managers, or local officials.

It is also important to ensure the reasons why drone footage is being recorded do not go against the conditions of the visa used to enter Indonesia.

For example, gathering drone footage for personal social media use would generally be considered fine on a tourist visa, but if that content were to be used for commercial purposes or for profit, this could break the conditions of a socio-cultural visa.