Bali to start collecting tourism tax from all foreign visitors, including kids, on Valentine's Day

Foreign visitors to Bali, including Malaysians, will need to pay a tourist tax of about RM45 from Feb 14 this year. — Pixabay

Indonesia's holiday island of Bali is rolling out its new tourist tax as part of an effort to tackle the region’s biggest problems – traffic and rubbish.

As of Feb 14, IDR150,000 (RM45) will be due, in addition to the IDR500,000 rupiah (RM150) for a 30-day visa.

The tourism tax applies to everyone without exception, including children. (Yes, including Malaysians and other visitors from Asean.) Those who make a side trip to neighbouring islands such as the popular Gili Islands, Lombok or Java have to pay again on their return trip to Bali.

This does not apply to short trips to Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan or Nusa Ceningan, as these three islands belong to the province of Bali.

Some observers had questioned whether the new procedure would lead to long queues at arrivals areas, but according to the head of the local tourism authority, Tjok Bagus Pemayun, the processing should not take more than 23 seconds per person.

Officials also hope most tourists will in the future be paying online in advance of travelling to Bali and have said credit card payments would be accepted.

While the costs for single travellers might be bearable, many families with children will probably soon look for cheaper holiday destinations in South-East Asia, some on social media have commented.

Indonesia fans who use Bali as a base from which to explore the island nation also face high costs. Many enter the country via Bali, for example, travel to Lombok for a few days and then – after further stopovers on Bali – travel on to see the Komodo dragons on the Lesser Sunda Islands, to visit the orang utan on Sumatra and to check out the Borobudur temple in Java.

For island hopping adventures like this, IDR150,000 are now charged for each stop in Bali.

The worsening traffic problems and the lack of waste disposal are the biggest headaches for Bali, and authorities say to be able to better counteract the negative effects of mass tourism in the future, they need fresh cash in their coffers. – dpa