With the start-up date of 14 February 2023 for the imposition of a Rp. With the 150,000 foreign tourist tax looming, a debate has emerged on how best to collect the fee from island visitors.
The view of Indonesia’s Minister of Tourism and the Creative Economy, Sandiaga Uno, is that the Rp. 150,000 tax should be collected before foreign travelers board a plane destined for Bali.
There are, however, other views on how best to collect the new tourist levy. Some want the fee collected upon arrival at Bali’s Ngurah Rai Airport, while others suggest that the fee can be collected at hotels in Bali.
“The tax should be collected before the foreign traveler departs for Bali to avoid creating a bottleneck of arriving tourists at the airport,” said Sandiaga during a press conference on Monday, 11 December 2023. Adding: “It’s certain that the collection can’t be done at hotels. At the very least, the collection could be done at the airport. We hope the collection can be done before the foreign tourist departs for Bali.”
The Rp. 150,000 tax is based on Provincial Regulation Number 6 of 2023. The fee will reportedly be imposed only once during a tourist stay.
Minister Sandiagi projects annual tax revenues of Rp. 750 billion from the new tourist tax. Sandiaga’s estimates are based on an estimated 5 million foreign tourists visiting Bali annually.
“So, if 5 million tourists visit Bali. That’s US$10 times 5 million or US$ 50 million – around Rp. 750 billion,” explained the Minister.
During the press conference, Sandiaga hoped the tax levy would be allocated for cultural development and handling Bali’s waste disposal problem. The Minister sees these two areas as crucial for the Island of Bali.
Several questions still need to be answered surrounding the new Rp. 150,000 foreign tourist tax. Among the areas awaiting clarification:
- How will foreign tourists who have landed in Indonesia and subsequently arrive again in Bali on domestic flights or by overland transport be charged the tax?
- How will arriving cruise passengers be charged the tax?
- If a foreign tourist leaves Bali to visit another Indonesian destination (e.g., Lombok, Komodo, or Yogyakarta), will they be required to pay again after returning to Bali?
- Where will the physical collection occur if it is finally decided to collect the tax at the airport upon arrival in Bali? Will credit and debit card payments be accepted for paying the tax?
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