The Bali Regional Legislative Council (DPRD-Bali) proposes increasing the foreign tourist tax from Rp. 150,000 (+/- US$10) to Rp. 750,000 (+/- US$50). This move is seen as necessary to enhance the overall quality of visitors to the Island and address issues of poor behavior and public order disruption.
In recent months, local and national media reports have surged, highlighting the challenges posed by the unruly and outrageous behavior of some foreign tourists, who are seen as disrupting public order. This situation underscores the need for a comprehensive solution, such as the proposed increase in the tourism tax.
NusaBali.com quotes the chairman of Commission II of the DPRD-Bali, I Gede Komang Kresna Budi, who said the Rp. 150,000 tax imposed on foreign tourists has yet to prove effective in eliminating unruly incidents of poor behavior by international visitors to Bali.
Commenting further, Kresna Budi said that while speaking after a plenary session of DPRD-Bali on Wednesday, 19 June, the new tourism tax is too low to end Bali’s reputation as a cheap tourism destination. Seeing “cheap tourists” as the source of bad behavior, Kresna Budi said: “I think Rp 150,000 tax is too low, so Bali seems like a cheap tourist destination. That’s why we plan to increase it by 50 dollars. Why should Bali be sold cheaply?”
With the proposed increase in the tourism tax, Kresna Budi envisions a significant enhancement in the quality of tourist visitors. He also believes that the additional revenues generated by a higher tourist tax rate can be a game-changer for Bali’s education and health sectors. The law maker is hopeful that the immigration service at Bali’s airport will take on the responsibility of collecting the tourism tax, ensuring a more efficient process.
To date, the collection of the new tourism tax, introduced on 14 February 2024, has been plagued by inefficiency, with only a minority of foreign visitors actually paying the Rp. 150,000.
Kresna Budi also suggests that a part of the tax revenues should be allocated to improve security and public order by creating a tourism police force. Adding: “We are communicating with the police to form a tourism police that specifically handles tourism issues. Some of the funds can be allocated to support police preparedness.”
Provincial Regulation No. 6 of 2023 must first be revised after being reviewed by the DPRD-Bali to collect the proposed higher tax rate of Rp. 750,000.
The poorly organized introduction of the new tourism tax collected only Rp. 117 billion from 14 February until 12 June 2024.
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