Bali flags potential increase to tourist tax, fines for travellers not paying foreign levy

It’s popular for being a cheap getaway for Australian tourists, but Bali trips could soon get more expensive.

The Island of Gods is considering bumping up its tourist tax to $A75 to help the popular holiday destination cope with the influx of visitors it receives each year.

Introduced on February 14, the foreign tourist levy requires all travellers to pay IDR 150,000 ($A15) to help preserve Bali’s culture and environment and manage over-tourism.

As of June, the levy has generated IDR 117 billion ($A10.7 million), according to The Bali Sun.

However, officials said it was only a fraction of the anticipated revenue.

Tourism department numbers revealed about 60 per cent of foreign tourists have failed to make their payments since the policy was introduced, with some deliberately avoiding the fee while others were just unaware.

Officials said Bali had been shortchanged about IDR 186 billion ($A17 million).

Now, provincial leaders are debating whether to increase the tax, with the Bali Provincial People’s Representative Council proposing the levy be bumped up to the equivalent of $A75.

Chairman of Commission II of the council, Ida Gede Komang Kresna Budi said the increased revenue would be used to boost regional spending in education, health and policing.

“We are trying to consult with the police to form a tourism police that specifically handles tourism ... that is the basis for us wanting to make changes to the revision of the regional tourism levy regulation,” he told local media recently.

Head of the Bali Tourism Office, Tjok Bagus Pemayun confirmed an increase in the tax could be on the cards, but said an in-depth viability study would be conducted before any changes were introduced.

Fines flagged

New fines for travellers have also been flagged after Bali’s top tourism leaders backed the idea of issuing sanctions against tourists who dodged the tax.

Indonesian Tourism Industry Association chair Ida Bagus Agung Partha Adnyana said he supported sanctions as long as the levy system was clear and transparent.

To fairly issue sanctions, the government first needed to implement a straightforward system for paying and monitoring the levy, Adnyana explained.

“It’s true that there needs to be sanctions,” he said last week, according to a translation of Indonesian news outlet Kompas.

“In fact, it’s better to go ahead and (define) what kind of model.

“For example, if he doesn’t pay, what are his rights and obligations?

“But the important thing is that we level the collection system first and then talk about its use.”

Adnyana recommended the government follow a system used in other countries where the levy is included when tourists book hotel rooms or directly include the charge in existing regulations related to restaurant and hotel taxes so foreign travellers do not feel the direct burden.

Deputy Chair of PHRI Badung, I Gusti Ngurah Rai Suryawijaya also showed support for introducing sanctions and agreed the system needed to be fine-tuned and better communicated to tourists when they arrived.

“So far, the levies have not been maximally implemented,” he said last week, via The Bali Sun.

“Before carrying out sanctions, it is also necessary to improve and review co-operation with several stakeholders.”